Today (8/4/22) is projected to be the hottest day of the year and potentially a record-breaker. Anything that is done to conserve or reduce electricity use will have disproportionately high environmental benefits*, especially between 4PM – 7PM.
We suggest for those who are able to:
- Turn AC temperature up 5 degrees or more;
- Turn off all unnecessary lights, appliances, equipment, and plug loads;
- Delay big electricity-using projects to a different time or day.
Lebanon Water and Wastewater Plants will be dramatically reducing their loads between 4-7 PM today, without diminishing services, and the City will benefit financially as a result. This is because these biggest municipal loads are on a special G-1 rate with Liberty Utilities, which saves us money if we curtail during the hours of annual grid maximum load. At some point in the future, the City hopes to transition other big loads to similar rate structures that benefit from targeted conservation measures and make such rates possible for residents, businesses, and organizations throughout the City.
* When the electric grid reaches peak load, special ‘peaker plants’ are brought online that are generally the dirtiest forms of electricity generation. The environmental benefit comes from minimizing the use of these plants, which include coal-fired power plants.
Tad Montgomery
Energy and Facilities Manager
City of Lebanon, NH 03766