Jackson EMC offers power saving ideas for the heat

 

The effort allows the cooperative to briefly cycle off air conditioning compressors and some equipment at large commercial customers. Those affected customers are program volunteers.

 

"That helps us as far as the peak load is concerned, because normally we hit peak loads for electricity in the summertime," Bonnie Jones, Director, PR/Communications for the cooperative said.

 

Jones said on days when the program is activated, it's usually between 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. during peak power usage. She said that's when temperatures are typically the highest and people are home for the day and using electronics, appliances and the air conditioning.

 

During this week, Jones said the EMC activated the program every day, except Friday.

 

While the cooperative uses load management to help, Jones said residents can decrease power demand and their power bills by doing several simple things.

 

If you can stand it, Jones said to set your thermostat at 78 degrees. She also said to consider a programmable thermostat to keep your air conditioning from working so hard while you're away.

 

"Your entire house absorbs that heat, and then when you come home and turn the thermostat on and crank your air conditioner up, it's going to have to work super hard to cool that house back down," Jones said.

 

Jones said to close blinds during the day, use ceiling fans and keep your A/C unit in clean and good working order.

Another thing residents may not consider is what they have near their thermostat. The heat from lamps or TVs near the thermostat can give it a false reading on the actual temperature in the home.

 

While the heat continues, Jones said a bit of good news is that the cooperative doesn t expect to meet its all-time summer peak this year. The bad news--it's projecting a peak that s 13 percent higher than the summers of 2013 and 2014, due to both warmer temperatures and area growth.