Forecasting irregular seasonal power consumption. An application to a hot‐dip galvanizing process

Distribution companies use time series to predict electricity consumption. Forecasting techniques based on statistical models or artificial intelligence are used. Reliable forecasts are re-quired for efficient grid management in terms of both supply and capacity. One common underly-ing feature of most demand–related time series is a strong seasonality component. However, in some cases, the electricity demanded by a process presents an irregular seasonal component, which prevents any type of forecast. In this article, we evaluated forecasting methods based on the use of multiple seasonal models: ARIMA, Holt‐Winters models with discrete interval moving seasonality, and neural networks. The models are explained and applied to a real situation, for a node that feeds a galvanizing factory. The zinc hot‐dip galvanizing process is widely used in the automotive sector for the protection of steel against corrosion. It requires enormous energy consumption, and this has a direct impact on companies’ income statements. In addition, it significantly affects energy distribution companies, as these companies must provide for instant consumption in their supply lines to ensure sufficient energy is distributed both for the process and for all the other consumers. The results show a substantial increase in the accuracy of predictions, which contributes to a better management of the electrical distribution.