Keeping drapes closed on the sunny side of the home. Washing clothes in cold water. Bumping the thermostat up to 78 degrees.
Those are three ways to conserve energy, as regional power companies are recommending. They expect higher power use this summer, compared to last year.
BGE reported using a peak of 7,045 megawatts last summer, but predicts that 7,200 megawatts will be this season’s high. Tuesday’s peak was about 5,500 megawatts, said Linda Foy, a BGE spokeswoman.
“We expect this summer to have adequate supplies to meet demand,” said Ray Dotter, of PJM Interconnections, the company that manages supply and demand in the greater mid-Atlantic region.
Dotter said problems arose last summer during an extended heat wave in July when power couldn’t get through jammed transmission lines. Regional companies asked customers to conserve electricity during the peak hours of late afternoon and evening to avoid outages.
Dotter said there shouldn’t be too many problems this summer since “there have been a number of upgrades made to the transition system to allow additional power to flow into the area.”
Pepco recently proposed building a 230-mile, 500,000-volt wire through the region to help meet demand. Though the region is not in immediate danger of power outages, conservation is “a good idea anyway,” said Robert Dobkin, a Pepco spokesman.
“Electric rates are going up June 1 in this area,” he said.
Typically, widespread outages are the result of summer thunderstorms and downed power lines, said David Botkins, a Dominion spokesman. He suggested clearing dead trees from areas with power lines before the storms come.
Area air conditioning technicians are already working overtime to make sure the region’s residents are cool and comfortable.
“In this type of weather, you work long hours,” said Jimmy DeBruyn, an air conditioning technician.
Service issue contacts
» Dominion: 888-667-3000
» BGE: 877-778-2222
» Pepco: 877-PEPCO-62
