6 A.M. to 9 A.M., Tomorrow Morning, March 4
Because of the slow track of extremely cold weather out of our region, between the hours of 6 A.M. and 9 A.M. tomorrow morning, March 4 we are asking you to delay the usage of all unnecessary lights or appliances during these hours as well as turning your thermostat down 3 degrees.
While the largest consumers of electricity in the home during these hours and during this time of year are heating costs and lighting, other large consumers of electricity include major appliances such as dishwashers, washing machines, clothes dryers, hot water heaters and stoves.
By delaying the use of unnecessary lighting and appliances as well as reducing your thermostat 3 degrees between 6 A.M. and 9 A.M. tomorrow morning, March 4, we can save energy resources, avoid high cost energy and help the environment.
We thank you for your help. Together we can “Beat The Peak”
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
URGENT “BEAT THE PEAK”
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13 comments:
I'm not sure I understand overall what the point is.
Is there something special/urgent about tomorrow?
Are rates going up?
Is there going to be another "beat the peak" again?
Are we going to get a report of the difference in the 3 hours of today compared to tomorrow to see if the blog post and people listening makes an effect?
I understand that by making a conscious effort and lowering the thermostat you can make a difference on the environment in a positive way but why do this only tomorrow for 3 hours? I try not to waste energy always and my thermostat is already at 67. I might be able to stand 66 but I'm already cold in my house.
I started cutting back out of necessity and dropped my electric bills by around 40% in the last 4 months.
I went around the house and took a good look at all the things I had plugged in and rarely use.
1. Got rid of the 2nd alarm clock.
2. Unplugged the tv in the bedroom as I rarely use it.
3. Unplug the microwave and plug it in when you need it.
4. The plug-in vacuum on the wall; unplug it.
5. Put a surge protector on your main tv and on your computer and when you're in bed or not home turn the power completely off; these things suck up electric even when turned off.
6. Use those low voltage flourescent bulbs, they can be an inconvenience in the kitchen and bathroom as they take a bit to come to full light but they save you money and you will get used to it.
Another thing I have tried but gave it up because I didn't like re-setting my alarm clock every day but will save you big bucks is when you leave the house to go to work for the day...Shut the main breaker down and cut off all electric to the house. Your food will be fine and nothing will thaw out; but I would suggest only doing this in spring and fall when you don't need heat or A/C.
If anyone else has any cost saving suggestions please post them and I will surely try them.
Jim, Would it make a difference if you still shut the breakers off for all rooms but what room the alarm clock is in? I also think it is a pain in the butt to reset them. But leave that circuit breaker on in that room and unplug everything else.
6:17 I'm not 100% sure about this myself but this is how I see it.
Due to the temperatures being so cold, during these hours are the highest amount of energy being used. They ask for people to cut back during these hours so there won't be a rolling brown-out or possibly a black out due to not having enough electric for everyone.
If this is wrong I hope someone will correct me.
I've been unplugging and cutting things off when I go to bed. I've noticed a slight change in my electric bill also.
It's winter and folks should have the therm set at 67ish already. I like it 60 @ night but am told with a heat pump that we shou;ldn't shock the system due to demand when you raise the temp over 2 -3 degrees at a time. I want to do what is right. But tell people with oversize houses , etc. MOVE OUT< GET MOPRE EFFICIENT. I know, hard to do when you lived there and oil was 19 cents a gallon.........
What's wrong here?
They want us to help avoid a brown/black out, yet they keep increasing their rates? I could go on forever, but will leave this to more 'common-taters' (pun intended)
Jim S
I heard they make alarm clocks with battery backups in them. That way if you unplug it... once you plug it back in it will display the correct time. Hope this helps
People wake up around the same time in the morning, and since they are no longer under their nice warm covers they bump up the heat pump, make coffee, turn on the electric stove for bacon and eggs, take a shower which turns on the water heater, etc.
The overdraw makes the electric company have to fire up more electric generators that use more expensive fuels then the cheap ones that are on line most of the time.
All they are asking is that this activity be minimized, or spread to different times of the day.
By the way, there is no such thing as a hot water heater. If I had hot water, I would not have to heat it. There is, however, such thing as a water heater, as most water enters our houses at around 50 degrees..sorry, it's just one of my pet peeves!
No charge
Orson has most of it correct. The "peak" that the power company is trying to beat is calculated on a monthly basis. Each month wipes the slate clean and begins a new period where peak usage is monitored and rates are calculated.
You see, they are trying to avoid having to buy electricity during the critical (peak)hour of the month, during which power costs can be 10 times or more than during normal usage periods.
This specific hour is not known until the month is over, and all the usage charts for the month have been analyzed. Then, high-dollar rates are applied by the wholesale suppliers for that peak hour to the total bill presented to the utilities. It's done on a lookback basis here.
One month's peak usage may be half what the previous month's peak was, but the high rates apply nevertheless. This is why you may see a beat the peak notice during milder weather one month when the previous month's peak was during severe weather.
During those periods, the power company is essentially selling electricity to you at a loss, paying much more for it than you are paying on your bill. This is why its so important to heed these notices, and the savings can be significant.
In summer, this occurs on the hottest days of the month, usually in late afternoon when most air conditioners are in use. In winter, this occurs either in the morning, or early evening, when folks are bumping up their heat pumps, preparing meals, doing laundry, taking hot showers, etc. You get the drift -- using a lot of electricity. That's why they call it a peak period.
The Del Coop has already publicly stated that they have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in raw energy costs from this voluntary notification program, resulting in delaying or eliminating rate increases.
So while there may not be any brownouts or rolling blackouts, there are significant savings realized by your electricity supplier. And, if they save money, that means you may not be faced with as many rate increases.
Good point, Daddio, but, you said it right when you stated we "may not be faced with as many rate increases". To me that means 'thanks for making us more profit, but your rate is still going to increase'. They are just like big oil, record profits and they are still gouging the consumers.
Coops are not in this for profits. They cover operating expenses, hold some funds in reserve, and the rest is returned to the members in the form of Capital Credits.
They are not like big oil, period.
Daddio, if this is nothing more than an effort to save the power companies money by not forcing them to buy more power from the wholesaler when it is more expensive to do so, but doesn't lower my overall cost (IE cheaper KPH overall) and seriously inconveniences me by not letting me use a resource I pay for when I want to use it, Why should I do it? This is nothing more than backwards congestion pricing. The power company can't figure out a defensible way to charge more during peak times, so they would rather us not use electricity during these times to avoid their costs going up. I got no problem with a company providing a service and making a profit off of it, but don't make it sound like you (the power company) are doing me a favor when all you are doing is finding a way to save money and not pass that savings on to me as the consumer.
Now, my feelings on this matter may be due to the fact that I am forced to use Delmarva Power and not given a choice of providers.. so consider that before you flame me.
Just my 2 cents. My Warm 2 cents, since I turned my heat up this morning...
How much of our power will actualy come from those 150' tall towers your going to destroy our community with? How much?
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