Due to forecasted high temperatures, a Community Energy Savings Day has been called in Bowling Green for today, July 20, and will likely be called for the rest of this week. The city is asking people to help keep energy costs low for all customers by reducing your electricity use.
Community Energy Savings Days are called for when demand for electricity is expected to be high. This can occur during very hot or very cold weather, when homes and businesses are using high amounts of electricity at the same time.
Bowling Green officials said nothing is wrong with the electric grid; they’re just trying to take every avenue to reduce costs for customers.
When a Community Energy Savings Day is called, residents can help by simply using less energy between the hours of 2 and 6 p.m. If residents use less energy during these times of peak demand, demand can be spread more evenly on the network, reducing the cost of providing energy and reducing the amount of greenhouse gases generated.
Residents can take conservation steps such as: shutting off lights when not needed; unplugging small appliances and electric chargers (especially those with small lights); raising the air conditioner thermostat a degree or two; closing curtains, drapes and blinds; doing laundry and other household chores requiring electricity during hours other than 2 to 6 p.m.; and turning off televisions, computers, gaming consoles, and other electronic devices when not being used.
There’s plenty of power available and the grid is in good shape, but if the city can conserve during these peak hours, it can save on transmission and capacity costs in the future. A portion of the City of Bowling Green electric rates are the result of what is known as demand peaks, which are based on community-wide electric demand from the hottest/coldest days of the year. By lowering electric usage on these days, customers can help to keep electric rates lower in the future.
As a municipal electric system, owned by its citizens and customers, it is contingent upon those same citizens and customers to keep the electric rates for themselves and all other customers of Bowling Green Municipal Utilities as low as possible. Citizens and customers have the opportunity to make a difference in their system and their rates by conserving energy during the periods stated.
