That’s an interesting idea, because it matches the physics of the situation pretty well; on-demand capacity costs the grid something just to have it (batteries, or whatever), so it would be good to make that price visible to users and let them decide if they need it.

It might also push people more toward smart-grid tech, which is a desirable outcome. You might pick a dishwasher that can actually help shave the peak, if it saves you money.

oh, don't worry, there are tons of incentive structures like this already out there. It's sophisticated energy management, though, so it's only in the Commercial & Industrial world (for now)

In C&I land, you have things like demand charges (billing by your max kW, not just kWh), demand-eligibility tiers (your electric arc-furnace plant is going to have very different charges than your warehouse), and even fun things like many flavors of demand ratchets (you have a fixed charge based on your maximum kW in last 3, 6, 12 months, or your maximum kW during the most grid-strained periods last year, or a million other variations).

C&I billing gets very creative.

Some utilities are even today experimenting with demand charges in the Resi space (don't run your dryer while charging your EV!)