Electricity demands are surging due to the hot temperatures across the West, and it is affecting pocketbooks in Utah with rate increases. To ease the burden on power grids and save money, officials in Cache Valley are asking residents to conserve power.
“It's hot. So, the generation that exists across the western grid is putting out as much or maybe not quite enough for what the demands are,” said Mark Montgomery.
Mark Montgomery is general manager of Logan City Light and Power. Most of Logan City's resources for power are contracted and the price is fixed. But as demand increases and exceeds those resources, they have to purchase that power on the open power market.
“And so, you know, if everybody wants it, and there's not enough available, the prices go way up. And so any, any little bit that we can conserve is, is something that we don't have to purchase. So it all helps,” said Montgomery.
Ways to conserve power include cooking on the BBQ instead of the electric stove, raising your house thermostat a couple of degrees, replacing lights with LEDs, and turning dishwashers on at night.
“I mean, anything that can be shifted towards the nighttime hours is great, because obviously the air conditioning load in the hot part of the summer, you know, goes till 7:00, 8:00, 9:00 o'clock at night, and that's usually when the power prices reflect that demand,” said Montgomery.
Montgomery explained that conservation is important not just during hot summer days and high market times, because if electricity is not burned it does not have to be created.
“It doesn't cost you anything, it doesn't cost the environment,” said Montgomery.
He added that they work lots of hours to make sure the city has enough energy, and they are working towards a cleaner portfolio with renewables and other carbon free products.
“But the reality is right now, that growth all over the western United States and then the push to electrify everything from cars to houses, I mean, that would be difficult to keep up with,” said Montgomery.
Montgomery said that energy need is compounded by the fact that baseload generation is going down even though natural gas, hydro and geothermal sources are increasing, but just not as rapidly as coal is diminishing.
He said solar energy does help but solar panels typically quit working towards the end of the day.
“So demands going up, generations down, that makes a tough market,” said Montgomery.
