Blue Ridge Electric Asks Members to Conserve
For Immediate Release
Contact: Renee Whitener, Director of Corporate Communications, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, (828) 758-2383 ext. 3213; Pager:1-800-471-1323; or E-mail: Renee Whitener
Lenoir, North Carolina (January 23, 2003) – To help members control their energy costs and to help the cooperative ensure reliable power during periods of heavy power demand, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation is asking its members to voluntarily help conserve energy over the next 48 hours.
During winter months, consumers use more electricity due to colder weather and shorter days that cause us all to spend more time inside our homes. During extremely cold weather and wind chill factors such as we’re experiencing all across the southeast today, the load placed on electrical systems caused by dramatically increased energy usage can rise quickly and sharply. If too much demand is placed on a system, an outage can occur.
“On a simplistic level, you could compare this with what occurs when too many appliances are hooked up to one circuit in a home….when all the appliances are turned on at once, the circuit is overloaded and power failure occurs,” said Bill Terry, director of engineering and reliability for Blue Ridge Electric.
Terry said the request to conserve energy is only precautionary. “We are not in an emergency situation at this point. We have not even experienced any outages as of Thursday afternoon. Our request to conserve energy is precautionary at this point because of the predictions for extremely low temperatures to stay in effect all across our service territory for the next few days. This, coupled with school and plant closings resulting in more individuals at home, has the possibility of straining the electric system with an unusually heavy demand for electricity,” he explained.
Peak “demand” periods (times when members are using more electricity) are typically at 7:30 a.m., 11 a.m., and again from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. School and plant closings, however, can affect normal peak usage periods, Terry explained.
To conserve energy and help ensure reliable power by avoiding an unusually heavy drain on the electric system, Blue Ridge Electric asks members to voluntarily:
- Turn off or avoid using all unnecessary appliances such as stereo systems, electric ranges or ovens, and personal computers
- Avoid using unnecessary lights
- Lower or turn off your water heater until you need it
- Avoid washing and drying clothes or using dishwashers unless necessary
- Use heat wisely by closing off unused rooms. Keep shades or draperies open if the sun is out, but close shades at night and if it’s overcast during the day. Stop any drafts or air leaks if possible.
- Lower thermostats and keep warm by dressing in layered clothing. Keep extra blankets handy.
“These are a few simple steps any consumer can take,” said Terry, who added that utilities also have the option of going into “load control” status when unusually high demand is placed on electric systems. “Load control provides energy conservation and controls the demand by shutting off, or cycling off and on, residential water heaters,” Terry explained. “It’s common to periodically go into load control in very cold or very hot weather. However, the best way to avoid strain on the system and help ensure reliability is for us to all use energy wisely every day.
“We appreciate members’ help in this precautionary step of conserving energy over the next 48 hours,” Terry added. “Our main goal is to ensure reliable power for our members at all times.”
Blue Ridge Electric serves over 64,000 members in northwest North Carolina. Its subsidiary, Blue Ridge Energies, provides propane and heating fuels from offices in Lenoir, Hickory, Boone, West Jefferson and Sparta.
