Vermont Electric Cooperative is encouraging its members to conserve electricity this Thursday evening between 5 and 10 p.m.
Record high temperatures in the area are expected to boost power demands in New England, and “we just hope our members can curtail their use a little bit later this afternoon and save some money for the co-op,” said Jake Brown, the co-op’s energy services planner. “That would be good for everybody.”
The member-owned utility supplies electricity to roughly 33,000 people in northern Vermont.
Because electricity costs the most during peak periods like Thursday’s, the co-op would be forced to spend at a higher rate if energy use stayed the same. If members cut down on electricity use, it will help the nonprofit avoid rate increases to cover the higher expenses.
Brown estimated that, if a member decides not to run a large appliance like a dishwasher during the peak period, it would save the co-op around $35.
“So it’s kind of a complicated math problem,” he said. “But if you get a few hundred people all delaying their dishwasher or not running their washing machine, or shutting off lights during a peak period, we can save thousands of dollars in future energy costs.”
The co-op issues two or three of these warnings per year, and they are “generally successful” in saving the co-op money, Brown said.
Neither Green Mountain Power nor Burlington Electric Department, both major electric utilities in Vermont, have issued similar requests.
