"PEAK ALERT! PEAK ALERT!"

Our members may hear from time to time our "PEAK ALERT" announcements on various radio stations or receive notification through Facebook and Twitter. Peak Alerts are not a notice of a power shortage, they are simply a load management effort used to reduce the demand for electricity and keep your cost of power as low as possible. By keeping high electrical demand levels to a minimum, our cooperative members reap the benefit, in the form of a lower cost of power.

A Peak Alert occurs when The Energy Cooperative is extremely close to demanding more electric power than we've ever used before. Your cooperative pays for power based on the total number of kilowatt hours of electricity we use, AND the largest demand for electric power during any one-hour increment. If we set a new "peak demand," it can mean we have to pay thousands of dollars more throughout the rest of the year. And that means higher electric rates for you, our electric members.

Although Peak Alerts are announced on local radio stations, you don't have to hear a peak alert message to be able to help. Peak Alerts are likely to occur Monday – Friday from 2:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. on days that are extremely hot and humid. So when you experience those severely extreme weather days, find small ways to lower your electricity such as:

• Raise your thermostat by just a few degrees in the summer.
• Turn off lights and appliances you aren't using. (It's a waste of energy and your money.)
• Delay doing laundry or running the dishwasher until later in the evening.
• Take advantage of using the outdoor grill to keep cooking heat outside.

By working together, we can curve the demand for electric power. This teamwork is a win-win for the membership and the cooperative, as the cooperative consistently works towards the goal of keeping the cost of power as low as possible.