John Hollenhorst Reporting
Ninety-degree temperatures are coming this week, and that means a lot of us will be trying to keep cool by revving up our demand for electricity. That's why there was an appeal today for all of us to "go easy" on those air conditioners.
We use the most electricity on the hottest afternoons from about noon to about 8 pm. Don't be surprised this summer if you hear someone say "Turn off the A/C. It's a Red Day."
People are getting rid of swamp coolers, and it's a worrisome trend for power suppliers. Central air conditioners use three times as much electricity, but consumers and builders are putting them in anyway. They now outnumber swamp coolers two or three to one, and it used to be the other way around. That's one of the key reasons demand for power is going up faster than population.
A. Richard Walje, President, Utah Power: "Frankly, in a residential home, about half the electric energy use is used to cool something, either food or us."
At the kickoff of the Power Forward conservation program, businesses were also encouraged to save energy. The state will use a red-light green-light system. On "green" days, conserve normally. On "red days", usually the hottest afternoons, conserve even more.
Dianne Nielson, Utah Dept. of Environmental Quality: "Turn off all non-essential electrical equipment. If health permits, to turn off an air conditioner. To use fans, to close drapes or blinds to help reduce the heat level in your homes or business."
Utah Power spent 235 million dollars on new substations and power lines recently, but conservation is still the main talking point this summer.
Dave Eskelsen, Utah Power: "We will make the necessary capital investments to supply the demand and to move it to our customers. But we also want to foster efficiency on the customer supply end."
Saving electricity saves money because power costs a lot more during peak demand periods. Conservation is voluntary, of course; but consider the alternative, involuntary conservation through power blackouts and brownouts.
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