Strategic Electric Usage
NEW CONCORD, Ohio – Electricity production rises and falls throughout a 24-hour period to match consumer demand.
Guernsey Muskingum Electric Cooperative Energy Advisor and Member Services Representative Ray Crock explained how peak energy supply during the hours of peak demand can affect electricity billing rates.
“There’s not a lot of electric being used at night, then there’s a lot during the day. In the heat of the summer, that is between 2 and 7 or 2 and 9 in the afternoon when you’re really peaking out. In the winter, we may peak out in the morning or evening on a real cold day,” Crock said. “And it’s those peak hours we need to watch because over time, our generation capacity has went down as they closed power plants like Conesville but use is going up and we’re all hearing about the data centers and stuff going in.”
Peak usage alerts are issued when the usage demand becomes dangerously close to generation capacity, which often coincides with extreme temperatures. So through better balancing energy consumption across a 24 hour time period, supply rates are minimized because of a decreased peak demand.
“As we start to get to the point where we’re burdening the grid, that we’re getting… using about as much electric as it can produce, electric gets very expensive and that affects our members’ rates all year,” Crock said. “So if people can turn down their thermostats or in the summer turn your thermostat up… if the water heater is not on. One of the easiest things is don’t dry clothes right during that time.”
Crock suggested adjusting the times you operate your heaviest energy using appliances in accordance with the extreme seasonal temperatures to reduce stress on the grid and help lessen future rate hikes.
