How much can peak shaving save?

That depends on the grid operator's demand charge and on the height of the peaks. In 2026 the median demand charge for a site with 400 kW of connected load is CHF 108 per kW and year (ElCom tariff data, profile C6). At this tariff, every kilowatt of peak capped for good saves around CHF 108 per year; 100 kW less peak corresponds to around CHF 10'800. For the middle half of grid operators (CHF 88 to 127 per kW) it is CHF 8'800 to 12'700. Only the load profile analysis shows how much peak your site can cap.

How much peak load can peak shaving cut in a manufacturing plant?

As much as the storage system can discharge and as far as the peak sits above the base load. A system with 250 kW of discharge power, as at Kuny AG, can take at most 250 kW off the peak; the part that can actually be shaved is what lies above the base load and lasts no longer than the capacity allows. The FHNW study for the Canton of Aargau shows that the higher the ratio of peak to base load, the more peak each kilowatt-hour of storage removes. The figure for your site comes from the load-profile analysis, not from an industry average.

How large does a battery storage system need to be for peak shaving?

The battery's power (kW) must cover the desired peak reduction, its capacity (kWh) the duration of the peak. A peak of 100 kW over 45 minutes needs 75 kWh of usable capacity plus a reserve for the next peak. The sizing follows from the load profile of the last twelve months at 15-minute resolution, not from rules of thumb.

Which businesses benefit most from peak shaving?

Businesses with short, high load peaks and an otherwise moderate base load: production starts, compressors, welding equipment, refrigeration plants, charging infrastructure for fleets. The larger the ratio of peak to base load, the more peak each kilowatt-hour of storage caps, as the FHNW study for the Canton of Aargau (2022) found.

Can peak shaving be combined with other storage applications?

Yes. Peak shaving takes priority in the energy management system because it lowers the demand charge directly. Outside peak periods the same battery serves self-consumption optimisation, charging of fleet vehicles or ancillary services for Swissgrid. The reference project Kuny AG is designed for peak shaving and self-consumption and additionally registered for balancing power.

Peak shaving with battery storage: capping power peaks (Switzerland)

Q: What is peak shaving?

Peak shaving, also called peak load capping, is the targeted lowering of a site's highest power draw. A battery storage system discharges as soon as the electricity draw threatens to exceed the target value and thereby reduces the 15-minute average that the grid operator uses for the demand charge. Energy consumption stays the same; only the peak falls.

Peak shaving (peak load capping) lowers a site's highest power draw by discharging a battery when a load peak is imminent. What counts is the highest 15-minute average, of the month (EKZ, CKW, AEW, BKW) or of the year (SIG) depending on the grid operator, billed as the demand charge: in 2026 a median of CHF 108 per kW and year for a 400 kW site (ElCom tariff data). Every kilowatt capped for good saves this amount: 100 kW less peak is around CHF 10'800 a year at the median.

Peak instead of consumptionPeak shaving does not lower electricity consumption but the highest 15-minute average, the quantity on which the demand charge is based. Depending on the grid operator, the value of the month or of the year counts.
CHF 108 per kW and yearThat is the 2026 median cost of grid power drawn for a 400 kW site (ElCom tariff data, profile C6). The range runs from CHF 27 to 245 per kW and year.
CHF 10'800 per 100 kWThat is the yearly saving for a site that lowers its peak by 100 kW in every month, at the 2026 median demand charge. The load profile shows how much peak can be capped.
Not for every siteFlat load profiles, grid operators without a separate demand charge and peaks lasting several hours make peak shaving uneconomical.

For Swiss industrial and commercial businesses, the demand charge is the least noticed item on the electricity bill. The energy price per kilowatt-hour appears on every quotation; the demand charge in CHF per kilowatt is set by a single quarter-hour value. A production start on Monday morning, a compressor, three lorries charging at the same time: whoever does not control the peak pays for it for a whole year, depending on the grid operator anew each month or as the annual maximum for all twelve months. Peak shaving with a battery storage system controls it.

What is peak shaving?

Peak shaving, also called peak load shaving or peak load capping, is the targeted lowering of a site’s highest power draw from the grid. Energy consumption stays unchanged; what changes is its distribution over time.

The mechanism has three parts. An energy management system (EMS) measures the grid draw in real time and compares it with a target value, the peak-shaving setpoint. If the running 15-minute average is heading above the target, the battery discharges into the site network and lowers the draw from the distribution grid. After the peak, the EMS recharges the battery, preferably from PV surplus or in low-load periods, so that it is ready for the next peak.

Two quantities determine the sizing: the battery’s power in kW sets how much peak it can absorb, its capacity in kWh sets for how long. A peak of 100 kW over 45 minutes needs 75 kWh of usable energy, and the battery must have recharged that energy before the next peak arrives.

How does the grid operator measure the power peak?

The basis is load profile metering under Art. 8 of the Electricity Supply Ordinance (StromVV). Sites with power metering receive their load profile from the grid operator as 15-minute averages; the data format and the metering rules are set by the VSE Metering Code Switzerland. The demand charge is levied on the highest of these quarter-hour values, depending on the grid operator monthly or as the annual maximum. The 2026 tariff sheets show both: EKZ, CKW, AEW, BKW and SAK bill the monthly maximum (BKW, Netznutzung Gross- und Industriekunden 2026), SIG in Geneva the «puissance maximale annuelle» (SIG Tarifs 2026).

What the power costs is shown by Ampere Dynamic’s analysis of the ElCom raw tariff data for 2026: for the ElCom standard profile C6 (400 kW, 1.5 GWh per year, medium voltage), the median demand charge for grid use is CHF 108 per kW and year, the middle half of grid operators sit between CHF 88 and 127, the extremes at CHF 27 and 245 (demand charge comparison 2026, based on the ElCom electricity price overview). A site with a 400 kW peak load pays around CHF 43’000 per year at the median for the demand component alone.

How much does peak shaving save?

The saving is the product of the capped peak in kW and the demand charge in CHF per kW. Both factors are site-specific, and only the second appears on the tariff sheet.

108 CHF/kW/year —

Median demand charge 2026 for a 400 kW site (ElCom tariff data, profile C6, analysis by Ampere Dynamic)

88-127 CHF/kW/year —

Demand charge of the middle half of grid operators 2026 (ElCom, profile C6); this is what every kW capped for good saves

250 kW —

Discharge power of the battery at Kuny AG (522 kWh), the upper limit of the peak that can be capped there

The calculation for a typical case: a site draws 400 kW at its monthly maximum, its base load is 250 kW. A battery that permanently limits the peak to 300 kW caps 100 kW. At the median demand charge of CHF 108 per kW and year that is CHF 10’800 per year, at the upper quartile of CHF 127 around CHF 12’700.

What counts for the saving is how high the peak is, not how often it occurs. The saving only applies in months in which the battery catches every peak. If the grid operator bills on the annual maximum, a single missed quarter-hour decides the whole year.

That the demand tariff dominates the business case is confirmed by the study Peak-Shaving mit Photovoltaik und Batterie by the FHNW School of Engineering, commissioned by the Canton of Aargau (Roth and Cavalloni, 2022). It simulated eight industrial companies in Aargau and concludes: the higher the demand tariff, the more worthwhile the peak shaving, and the larger the ratio of peak to base load, the more peak each kilowatt-hour of storage capacity caps. The study also shows why the PV system alone is not enough: almost every month has a heavily overcast day on which the system does not absorb the peak. Only the battery makes the reduction predictable.

When is peak shaving not worthwhile?

Peak shaving is a tariff business. If one of the three conditions is missing, the battery remains an expensive self-consumption optimiser.

No separate demand charge. 15 of 301 grid operators (around one in twenty) fold the power into the energy price or charges less than CHF 5 per kW and year (analysis of the ElCom data for 2026). There is nothing to cap there.
Flat load profile. If the monthly peak sits only 10 to 15 percent above the base load, the cappable power is small. A three-shift operation with constant load saves less with peak shaving than with a better tariff choice.
Long peaks. If the peak lasts three hours instead of thirty minutes, the battery needs six times the capacity. Beyond a certain ratio, shifting the load, for instance a staggered start of the compressors, is the more economical measure.

Batteries sized for peak shaving alone stand idle for most of the month. That is why Ampere Dynamic sizes commercial storage for several applications as a rule; the revenue streams are explained in the guide Commercial battery storage in Switzerland. How strongly the market is growing is documented by the Swissolar Batteriemonitor Schweiz 2026: the storage capacity installed behind the grid connection is expected to rise from 1.5 GWh at the end of 2025 to 2.5 GWh at the end of 2026.

Peak shaving in practice: Kuny AG

Kuny AG in Küttigen AG manufactures textile ribbons and has operated a 633 kWp photovoltaic system from Ampere Dynamic since December 2022. Since March 2026, two outdoor battery storage units with a combined 250 kW of power and 522 kWh of capacity have stood on the roof of the transformer station, designed for peak shaving and self-consumption optimisation (Ampere Dynamic project data).

The 2024 load profile showed peaks of more than 400 kW, and around 262 MWh of solar power flowed into the grid. The 250 kW of discharge power is the upper limit of what the battery can take out of a peak; the 522 kWh last for around two hours at full load. The EMS measures grid draw at the connection point in real time, stores solar surplus for production during the day and keeps power in reserve for the peaks. The battery is additionally registered for ancillary services, planned mainly at night and at weekends so that it creates no additional peaks in operations. Measured values for the peak reduction achieved are not yet available.

How to plan your peak-shaving solution

Ampere Dynamic plans peak-shaving solutions in four steps, from the load profile to ongoing operation.

From analysis to the running system

Load profile analysis and peak-shaving potential

We evaluate your load profile from the last 12 months at 15-minute resolution, identify the decisive peaks for each month and calculate the potential in CHF per year using your grid operator's tariff sheet. Result in 4 to 6 weeks.

Storage sizing and EMS design

The height and duration of the peaks determine the battery's power (kW) and capacity (kWh). The EMS is calibrated to your grid operator's measurement window and billing mode, monthly or annual.

Installation and commissioning

Turnkey installation without interrupting operations, including EMS configuration, registration with the grid operator and training of operating staff.

Monitoring and readjustment

After commissioning we compare the measured monthly peak with the target value and adjust the setpoint and charging strategy. The monthly evaluation shows the demand charge reduction achieved in CHF.

Peak shaving is usually the revenue source with the shortest payback for a commercial battery, but rarely the only one. How self-consumption, fleet charging and balancing power combine in the same battery is shown in the article Balancing energy with battery storage; the choice of the battery itself is covered in Battery storage providers in Switzerland.

Peak shaving with battery storage: capping power peaks in commercial operations

Key Takeaways