As Oregon heads into the first major heatwave of the season this weekend, Pacific Power is urging customers to prepare for those high temperatures.
Curt Mansfield, Pacific Power senior vice president of power delivery, said more electricity is used by their customers during the summer season than at any other time of the year. He encourages customers to take steps now to manage their energy use and take advantage of incentives to increase energy efficiency at home.
Pacific Power relies on a diverse mix of available energy resources to meet peak hour needs during the summer and the company is well-positioned to meet seasonal customer demand. During hot weather, the utility also takes steps each day to keep electric service reliable for its customers by monitoring daily which substations and circuits have the highest use and addressing any issues quickly.
Mansfield said the demand for electricity typically reaches its highest point on a hot summer weekday afternoon, generally from about 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. when power is needed to operate summertime irrigation and air conditioners. Coincidentally, northeast city residents were without electricity during those hours yesterday.
Customers can help decrease strain on the electrical grid and save on power bills by limiting energy usage between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. whenever possible. Turn off lights, computers, televisions and appliances when you are not using them. Keep air moving inside your home with ceiling, window, attic and portable fans.
For more information about energy efficiency and outage preparedness, please visit "pacificpower.net/prepare."
