The next few days, Wednesday through Friday, July 26-28, are projected to be the hottest days so far this year. It’s projected that some of Bowling Green’s highest electric usage for 2023 will occur over the next few days. Bowling Green is calling for Community Energy Savings Days and electric customers are being asked to conserve power.
Bowling Green officials said nothing is wrong with the electric grid – they’re just trying to take every avenue to reduce costs for customers.
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.
When a Community Energy Savings Day is called, residents can help by 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 gasses generated.
Participating in a Community Energy Savings Day is easy. Residents can take simple 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 2-6 p.m.; and turning off televisions, computers, gaming consoles, and other electronic devices when not being used.
The City of Bowling Green is participating in the Community Energy Savings: Smart Thermostat Program, a voluntary program designed to help reduce electric costs. You can help lower electric expenses for yourself and your neighbors by enrolling your smart thermostat in this program and allowing Bowling Green Municipal Utilities to make brief, small adjustments to your thermostat during times of high electric demand. If you do not currently have a smart thermostat, Bowling Green electric customers can receive up to a $100 rebate from Efficiency Smart to purchase a qualifying smart thermostat.
Again, there’s plenty of power available and the grid is in good shape, but if the community can conserve during these peak hours, the city 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. BG citizens and customers have the opportunity to make a difference in their system and their rates by conserving energy during the periods stated. As forecast dictates, the city will most likely be asking citizens and customers to again conserve energy at additional times this summer.
