Avoid the energy traffic jam

When the heat peaks on sum­mer after­noons, so does the demand on our elec­tric grid. Air con­di­tion­ers run longer. Refrig­er­a­tors work hard­er. We come home from work and cook din­ner, run the laun­dry, wash dish­es and do oth­er dai­ly chores.

At York Elec­tric, our pri­or­i­ty is deliv­er­ing safe, reli­able and afford­able pow­er when­ev­er you need it. That job is hard­est on sum­mer afternoons—usually between 3–7 p.m.—when all the homes and busi­ness­es we serve simul­ta­ne­ous­ly require more elec­tric­i­ty. We call these our “peak hours.”

On the hottest days, these peaks can place sig­nif­i­cant strain on our grid, which impacts us all. Peaks can cause price spikes for the whole­sale elec­tric­i­ty we pur­chase and deliv­er to you.

There are two clear ways to ensure we have enough pow­er for these peaks. One is dif­fi­cult and expen­sive: adding to our ener­gy sup­plies by build­ing pow­er plants or import­ing out-of-state pow­er. The oth­er is easy and actu­al­ly saves you mon­ey: reduc­ing ener­gy demand dur­ing peak hours.

It might be help­ful to think of the elec­tric grid like a high­way. Dur­ing rush hour, traf­fic is heavy, con­ges­tion builds and every­thing slows down. But when smart com­muters adjust their sched­ules or take alter­nate routes, they avoid the frus­tra­tion of sit­ting in traf­fic, and they help ease the bot­tle­neck. The same prin­ci­ple applies to ener­gy.

If we can make small changes to our dai­ly habits to reduce our ener­gy use dur­ing peak hours, we can reduce grid strain and low­er the ener­gy costs we all share. Here are a few ways you can help:

• Do the laun­dry and run your dish­wash­er in the morn­ing before work or in the evening before bed.
• Raise your ther­mo­stat by a few degrees and run fans, which are ener­gy effi­cient, dur­ing peak hours. This will light­en the load of your air con­di­tion­ing unit, your home’s most ener­gy-inten­sive appli­ance.
• Con­sid­er using a slow cook­er, air fry­er or out­door grill instead of the oven, which can heat up your home and make your AC unit work even hard­er.
• Most of all, stag­ger your use of appli­ances dur­ing peak hours.

These actions are small on their own, but they add up when we all par­tic­i­pate. As a mem­ber of York Elec­tric, you’re part of a com­mu­ni­ty work­ing togeth­er to pow­er our future. We all share the same goal: keep­ing the lights on at an afford­able price.

This sum­mer, I encour­age you to take a clos­er look at your dai­ly rou­tines in the same way you would rethink your route to work dur­ing rush hour. A few easy adjust­ments can keep the grid run­ning smooth­ly, keep you com­fort­able and keep your pow­er costs in check. Your co-op is always look­ing out for you and, togeth­er, we can make a dif­fer­ence.

Craig Spencer
Pres­i­dent and Chief Exec­u­tive Offi­cer