削峰填谷
xuē fēng tián gǔ
to shift demand from peak to off-peak; to even out highs and lows
Character by character
削xuē
shave
shave
峰fēng
peak
peak
填tián
fill
fill
谷gǔ
valley
valley
Example
这家工厂把耗电多的工序安排在夜里，既省了电费，也帮电网削峰填谷。
The factory moves its most power-hungry work to the night shift, which saves on the bill and helps the grid shave its peaks and fill its troughs.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
A power-industry term made into four characters: lower the peak (削峰) and fill the trough (填谷) of the daily load curve, by off-peak tariffs, storage or shifting work into the small hours. Now also said of traffic, tourism and water supply. 削 is xuē in compounds (削减, 剥削) and xiāo on its own (削苹果).
Learn this in Lesson 177 · HSK 7–9: 一度电的旅程 (The journey of a kilowatt-hour)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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