The ability to take power when it is cheaper (and more available) and generate it when power is expensive (and by inference less available) provides a financial benefit to consumers. In an era of interval metering or paying the real cost of electricity, large consumers of electricity will derive large benefits from taking steps to reduce their demand for purchased power at peak times.
Increasingly, utilities are formulating strategies to cope with providing power in severely constrained systems. They are currently providing incentives to consumers to reduce their consumption at peak times. This incentive will move to penalties as they become increasingly unable to provide peak power at certain times.

The ability to store off-peak energy and regenerate it at peak times is the greatest demand management tool available to both consumers and utilities.