Welcome back! We hope you will help with lowering Concord’s summer peak demand hours again this summer. We are starting a little later this year due to the cool, wet weather we experienced last week. With temperatures expected to hit 94°F today, the summer peak demand season is now officially here.
Thirty percent of your electric bill is directly related to the amount of electricity Concord uses for just one hour during the entire year. That one hour, the peak demand hour, occurs on a hot weekday afternoon during the summer months typically between the hours of 12PM – 6PM. By reducing electric use during these peak demand hours, everyone benefits with lower electric rates and a cleaner environment as the least efficient generating plants operate during peaks.
What you can do:
- turn up your AC thermostat several degrees
- make sure all windows are closed and shades drawn
- do not use pool pumps, washers, dryers, dehumidifiers or during the load shedding hours
- plan a cold picnic supper or cook dinner on the grill
- use a timer for appliances with the capability to avoid operation during peak hours
What CMLP will do:
From now until September 15th, we will send a message to the CAP Google Group, our Twitter followers, and the Town website the night before we believe a peak is POSSIBLE or LIKELY. At that time, we will provide you with a five-day forecast that predicts temperatures, ISO-New England load and the likely peak hour. At that point you can decide to voluntarily reduce your electric use during the predicted peak. It is a good idea to shed load two hours before and 2 hours after the predicted peak so that we have a better chance of hitting it. We will do our best to minimize the number of POSSIBLE and LIKELY calls that we make.
Share the word. Follow CMLP on Twitter @CMLPmedia. Family and friends in Concord can join the Google Group by sending an email with the Subject and Body blank to: Cmlp-cap+subs...@googlegroups.com. Google Groups will reply requesting verification of your request. This is a one-way email system so members can only receive emails from this site.
Thanks for helping to reduce the summer peak demand and keeping Concord’s electric rates competitive.