perkWhdel

perkWhdel is a metric used in energy analytics to quantify delivery performance on a per-kilowatt-hour basis by comparing actual energy delivery to forecasted delivery over a defined interval. The name appears to be a contraction of “per kWh” and “delivery” (del), and it is used to assess forecast accuracy and reliability in grid operations, procurement, and demand-response studies.

Calculation and interpretation: perkWhdel is typically defined as the percentage difference between actual delivered energy and forecasted delivered energy for a given period. One common form is: perkWhdel = [(Actual_kWh − Forecasted_kWh) / Forecasted_kWh] × 100%. A negative value indicates under-delivery relative to forecast, while a positive value indicates over-delivery. The metric is unitless and can be tracked across multiple intervals to gauge consistency.

History and usage: The term does not correspond to a widely standardized industry metric and appears mainly in modeling environments and shorthand within specific datasets or dashboards. It is used to summarize forecast errors in a single, per-unit measure, facilitating comparisons across plants, regions, or time periods.

Applications and limitations: perkWhdel is helpful for evaluating forecast quality, optimizing energy procurement, and informing reliability assessments. However, its meaning can vary between implementations, and it can be sensitive to the scale of forecast values (small forecasts magnify errors). It is generally used alongside other metrics such as mean absolute error, forecast bias, and delivery reliability indices.

See also: energy forecasting, forecast error, delivery reliability, kWh, smart grid metrics.