Energy conservation could offset large expected increase in demand, EWEB says

EUGENE, Ore. – Energy conservation could offset an expected large forecasted growth in electricity demand over the next two decades, according to the Eugene Water and Electric Board.

EWEB officials said that, over the next 20 years, customers’ energy demand will increase 33% without energy conservation measures. Expected factors include population growth, customers switching to electric-powered vehicles, and also rising industrial needs from electricity, the customer-owned utility provider said.

“In the past, the relationship between EWEB and customers was simple: customers flip a switch, and the lights come on,” said Greg Kelleher, EWEB’s customer solutions manager. “More and more, our relationship needs to be a partnership. EWEB and customers need to work closely together to find ways to conserve energy and to shift when we use that energy to avoid times when it is especially costly to provide or results in greater carbon emissions.”

EWEB said that while they have offset the low levels of growth in demand over the last 15 years by conserving energy, demand will outpace the levels of conservation achieved by current programs. Existing and potential programs include rebates for residential customers to install ducted and ductless heat pumps, insulation, heat pump water heaters, and smart thermostats, the utility provider said. EWEB officials said that, to meet future demand, the utility provider will need to build or buy new energy resources – such as wind, solar, and natural gas power plants – as well as develop programs that incentivize limited energy use by customers.

EWEB officials said that a study by the Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee sorted conservation and demand response programs by cost-effectiveness; those that would cost the about the same or less than building or buying new power plants or those that would cost more. The study found that conservation efforts could offset about half of the expected 20-year growth in demand, with the purchase of new powerplants being a cheaper way to meet the other half of the increased demand, EWEB said. The customer-owned utility said that the threshold of cost-effectiveness was estimated by EWEB at $45 per megawatt-hour, and it currently costs EWEB about $39 per megawatt-hour to purchase energy from the Bonneville Power Administration, the utility provider said. EWEB said other new energy resources could cost about $65 per megawatt-hour.

Demand response programs, which incentivize customers to reduce their energy usage during peak hours, coupled with cost-effective conservation could offset nearly all of the expected growth in peak demand over the next 20 years, according to EWEB.