Reducing electric usage

Posted on August 4, 2008 | Comments Off on Reducing electric usage

I’ve set the air-conditioning thermostat at eighty degrees at the rancho and am closing curtains and blinds on the south and west sides. Reason being, the state’s electric grid operator, ERCOT, is asking Texans to do so to avoid afternoon brownouts in the extreme hundred-degree heat. Demand is just really high, due mainly to population increases in recent years. No problems are expected if everyone cooperates. It’s nice having your own state grid.

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0 responses to “Reducing electric usage”

  1. SnoopyTheGoon's avatar SnoopyTheGoon | August 5, 2008 at 6:11 am |

    We had a very short blackout yesterday, it lasted all of about 5 seconds. Still a warning. 95 F all the time.

  2. Dick Stanley's avatar Dick Stanley | August 5, 2008 at 7:44 am |

    It’s the demand, steady, high demand that does it, rather than the temperature. Whatever big draw, like air-conditioning, that everybody on the grid wants at the same time. Someday, when they figure out how to store electricity cheaply, ready for emergencies, it might not be such a problem.