Summertime brings family vacations, cookouts, camping trips, baseball games, and swimming pools. It also brings long, hot, muggy days. During the hottest summer days, communities occasionally put out a peak power alert. What is a peak power alert and how does it affect you?

What Are Peak Power Alerts?

Peak power alerts are sent out to communities when it’s expected there will be a lot of fans, air conditioners, and other cooling devices in use. Rarely a peak power alert may go out during the winter months, but they’re most common between the hours of 2 and 8 pm during June, July, and August. The extra demand for energy can increase the cost to supply electricity to a community since suppliers typically estimate the average community usage. The increased load on the power grid can also cause issues, up to a possible power outage.

What Causes Power Alerts?

Electrical suppliers use various means to lower the demand for power, such as RC (radio-controlled) power switches and load offset management. Despite these, sometimes they aren’t enough to keep energy prices steady and relieve the load on the grid. When a peak power alert is issued, members of the community are asked to cut back on using a lot of electricity. Reducing the demand for electricity will help minimize the cost of electric transmission and capacity charges, as well as relieve some of the load on the power grid.

What Can You Do?

Air conditioners, fans, dishwashers, central air, washers, dryers, water heaters, and ovens are some of the devices that use a lot of power, so customers are urged to wait until the peak power alert is over to use them if possible. Turning off lights and devices such as computers in rooms not currently in use are also ways to reduce power consumption, as well as turning up the thermostat by a few degrees. By doing your part to minimize the usage of electricity when it’s in high demand, you not only help keep prices low but also help protect the power grid. 

Trebel is always available to answer any questions you may have about peak power alerts, electrical aggregation, or how we can help your community! Contact us today!