Possible Power Outages

ERCOT, The Electric Reliability Council of Texas on July 14, 2011 made a news release requesting consumers to increase their conservation efforts particularly during the peak load hours to be between 3-7 pm. Unit outages are expected as the temperatures remain extremely high and the demand greatly increases. For questions about rotating outages in your neighborhood or those possibly affecting your business, contact the utility company providing your electric service.

They included some conservation tips from the Public Utility Commission's "Powerful Advice":

• Turn off all unnecessary lights, appliances and electronic equipment.
• When at home, close blinds and drapes that get direct sun, set air conditioning thermostats to 78 degrees or higher and use fans to cool the air.
• When away from home, set air conditioning thermostats to 85 or higher and turn all fans off before leaving. Block the sun by closing blinds or drapes on windows that will get direct sun.
• Do not use your dishwasher, laundry equipment, hair dryers, coffee makers or other home appliances during the peak hours of 3-7pm.
• Avoid opening refrigerators or freezers more than necessary.
• Use microwave ovens for cooking instead of an electric range or oven.
• Set your pool pump to run in the early morning or evening instead of the afternoon.

All of these are easy for us as consumers and overall great advise! As a business owner we try and shut down areas not being used along with applying the above guidelines.

You can follow ERCOT on Twitter as well as taking a look at the demand forecast on their website www.ercot.com

Questions? Remember you can call your local utility company for procedures and outage information. The Public Utility Commission also has a Consumer Hotline: 1-888-782-8777. The Office of Public Utility Counsel Consumer Assistance number is 1-877-839-0363.

Hopefully we all do our part and we can avoid any rolling outages! Hoping you all stay cool!