In this paper, we explore whether there is a potential for shifting load between different times of the days, i.e., between peak and off-peak hours. In particular, we explore whether the fact that electricity is a necessity to modern life puts restrictions on the possibilities for load shifting. To do that we provide a structural framework for peak and off-peak electricity demand, where households are assumed to have Stone-Geary utility functions with subsistence levels for electricity demand that varies within the day, and that depends on household characteristics and temperature. As an empirical illustration, we fit our model to Swedish data on residential electricity usage at the sub-daily level. Our results indicate that the potential to shift load from peak to off peak is limited. One reason for this is that the subsistence levels are larger during peak than off-peak, implying that households assign a high value on electricity during peak time, relative to off-peak time. Overall, the results have important policy implications, not the least with respect to effects of real time pricing, as it suggests that there are limits to households' price responsiveness.

在本文中，我们探讨了是否有可能在一天的不同时间之间（即在高峰和非高峰时段之间）转移负载。特别是，我们探讨了电力是现代生活的必需品这一事实是否会限制负载转移的可能性。为此，我们为高峰和非高峰电力需求提供了一个结构框架，其中假设家庭具有 Stone-Geary 效用函数，其电力需求的维持水平在一天内变化，这取决于家庭特征和温度。作为实证说明，我们将我们的模型拟合到瑞典次日级别的住宅用电量数据。我们的结果表明，将负载从高峰转移到非高峰的可能性是有限的。造成这种情况的一个原因是高峰期的生活水平高于非高峰期，这意味着与非高峰期相比，家庭在高峰期分配了较高的电力价值。总体而言，结果具有重要的政策含义，尤其是在实时定价的影响方面，因为它表明家庭的价格反应是有限度的。