The rather young field of research into electricity savings is attracting increasing attention since low electricity consumption is a vital component of environmentally sustainable development. The potential benefits from using less electricity, without sacrificing quality of life, are immense, as the book shows with case studies from Eastern and Western Europe and the USA. Saving electricity means that the expense of constructing scores of power plants can be saved, and that their economic and environmental impact will vanish. Audience: Can be read with profit by any graduate. Suitable as a reference work for Master's and Doctoral students, as well as for others working on environmental issues in general and electricity savings in particular.

The rather young field of research into electricity savings is attracting increasing attention since low electricity consumption is a vital component of environmentally sustainable development. The potential benefits from using less electricity, without sacrificing quality of life, are immense, as the book shows with case studies from Eastern and Western Europe and the USA. Saving electricity means that the expense of constructing scores of power plants can be saved, and that their economic and environmental impact will vanish. Audience: Can be read with profit by any graduate. Suitable as a reference work for Master's and Doctoral students, as well as for others working on environmental issues in general and electricity savings in particular.

Since the mid-seventies, electric utilities were faced with escalating construction costs, growing environmental plus siting constraints and increasing uncertainty in demand forecasting. To cope with the increasing demand for energy services, utilities can either invest in supply-side options (new generation, transmission and distribution facilities) or in demand-side options. Demand-side options include, policies, programmes, innovative pricing schemes and high-efficiency end-use equipment (equipment providing the same or better level of services but using less energy or peak power). Recent experience in both North America and Europe show that demand-side options are usually cheaper and less damaging from the environmental point of view, and also their potential can be tapped in a shorter term than other supply-side options. This workshop was directed at the discussion and analysis of cost-effective methodologies to achieve the supply of electric energy services at minimum cost and minimum environmental impact. The programme included new developments in power planning models which can integrate both supply-side and demand-side actions. Quantitative assessments of the environmental impact of different supply-demand strategies were analyzed. Planning models which deal with uncertainty and use multicriteria approaches were presented. Case studies and experiments with, innovative concepts carried out by utilities in several countries were discussed. Load modelling and evaluation of demad-side programmes was analyzed. Additionally, the potential for electricity savings in the industrial, commercial and residential sectors was presented. New research directions covering planning models, programmes and end-use technologies were identified.

A NATO Advanced Study Institute on "Demand-Side Management and Electricity End-Use Efficiency" was held in order to present and to discuss some of the most recent developments in demand-side electric power management and planning methodologies as well as research progress in relevant end-use technologies. Electricity is assuming an increasingly important role in buildings and industry, due to its flexibility, efficiency of conversion and cleanliness at the point of use. However the production and transmission of electricity requires huge investments and may have undesirable environmental impacts. The recent nuclear accident in Chernobyl and the damage caused by acid precipitation are creating increasing concerns about the impacts of power plants. Some environmental problems are local or regional, others such as global warming can affect the whole world. Although environmental impacts may be minimized with additional investments, electricity generation will become even more capital intensive. Energy, and electricity in particular, is not directly consumed by people. To achieve improved standards of living, what is important is. the level of production of goods and services. If it is possible to produce the same quantity of goods and services with less electricity and in a cost-effective way, substantial benefits can be gained. By reducing costs, electricity efficiency can raise the standards of living and increase the competitiveness of an economy. Electricity efficiency also leads to reduced requirements in power plant operation, thus leading to reduced consumption of primary energy supplies and a higher quality environment.