Demand side management programs are strategies designed to alter the s
hape of the load curve. In order to successfully implement such a stra
tegy, customer acceptance of the program is vital. it is thus desirabl
e to design a model for direct load control which may accommodate cust
omer preferences. This paper presents a methodology for optimizing bot
h customer satisfaction and utility unit commitment savings, based on
a fuzzy load model for the direct load control of appliances.