EWEB customers cut back energy use to major savings - KEZI TV

EWEB customers cut back energy use to major savings | News | kezi.com

EUGENE, Ore. – Eugene Water and Electric Board officials said their customers went above and beyond in responding to a voluntary reduction in energy use during a period of extreme weather last week.

EWEB said they asked their customers to voluntarily cut their energy usage on August 15 due to several consecutive days of triple-digit temperatures due to the heat and with several regional electrical generators being shut down due to area wildfires. When compared with their hourly electricity demand on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday last week, energy usage was reduced by an estimated 10 to 15 megawatts, or the equivalent of 10,000 to 15,000 window air conditioners being shut off, officials said.

The utility company said that power prices ranged between $70 per megawatt-hour overnight at minimal demand to $1,800 per megawatt-hour from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at peak demand. Customers’ voluntary energy reduction efforts saved the utility company and its customers an estimated $10,000 per hour, EWEB said.

“The whole community came together in this time of duress to do something none of us could do on our own,” said Brian Booth, EWEB’s Chief Energy Resources Officer. “The results show that if everyone makes a small individual effort, then we can have a huge collective impact.”

EWEB said they issued the request via email and social media for a voluntary reduction in energy use to their 66,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Customers responded in kind by reducing air conditioner temperature settings, charging their EVs overnight versus during peak evening hours, and delaying the use of large appliances until after 9 p.m., EWEB said.

“As a publicly owned utility, every dollar we save is a dollar that our customer-owners ultimately don’t have to spend on rates,” Booth said. “Instead, we’re able to keep rates low and continue to invest in community assets today that will keep us resilient tomorrow. At the same time, when customers trim electricity demand when it’s at its highest, they reduce carbon emissions, since peak electricity tends to have higher carbon emissions."