PG&E asks customers to conserve during heat wave

[phantom power]

Anticipating triple-digit temperatures in many parts of California this week, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is asking its "Critical Peak Pricing" customers to voluntarily conserve energy.

Through PG&E's Critical Peak Pricing Program (CPP), business customers receive lower rates during the summer season in exchange for a higher rate during designated critical peak day hours on no more than 12 hot summer days when PG&E's system demands increase and an event is initiated.

http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2008/05/12/daily45.html?jst=b_ln_hl

[Savannah_H]

1. P&G - this is a joke right?

I'll conserve whenever the ceo's of P&G do it. Oh they live by the ocean I forgot.

[AndyTiedye]

2. Pacific Gas & Electric

[Greyskye]

3. PG&E also has a consumer program

www.pge.com/SmartAC

PG&E’s SmartAC™ gives you the power to help your community conserve energy when demand for electricity approaches capacity. Enroll today, and we'll send someone out to install your SmartAC™ device at no cost to you. Choose between two SmartAC technologies, both of which allow PG&E to temporarily reduce the amount of electricity your air conditioner uses, reducing the overall demand for energy in the territory.

PG&E will give you a $25 cash reward for every SmartAC device installed!
Who Qualifies?

* PG&E small and medium sized commercial customers with central air conditioning in suitable operating condition
* Customers who live in a single-family home or detached condominium
* Homeowners or those who have the homeowner’s written permission to participate in SmartAC
* Customers who are not a life support or medical baseline customer
* Evaporative/swamp coolers and window units do not qualify

How It Works

During summer months, when demand for electricity drains California’s power system, PG&E sends a signal to activate SmartAC devices throughout the territory. SmartAC is activated only during local emergency situations or when the California ISO calls emergency or near-emergency conditions (Stage I, II or III). The system will be activated for no more than 6 hours at a time and for no more than 100 hours per year.

Your comfort should not compromised by SmartAC. You can go online or call PG&E anytime before or during activation and opt out for the day, returning your air conditioner to its previous settings.*

* The ability to opt out may not be available in the event of an extreme emergency, such as a rotating block outage.
SmartAC Technologies

You can choose between two SmartAC technologies, both of which come with PG&E's unlimited technical support and customer service (as long as you are a SmartAC participant).
SmartAC Switch

* The SmartAC Switch is installed on or near the outside of your air conditioning unit, so it is out of sight and out of mind. When the SmartAC Switch is activated via a radio signal from PG&E, your air conditioner will cycle at half as it normally would — approximately 15 minutes out of each half hour. The system fan will continue to cycle, moving air throughout your home.
* The SmartAC Switch is installed by a certified technician and does not typically require an appointment.

SmartAC Thermostat

* The fully programmable SmartAC Thermostat replaces your existing thermostat and makes conserving energy easy with program schedules for both heating and air conditioning. You can also program it over the internet! When the SmartAC Thermostat is activated via a radio signal from PG&E, the temperature on the thermostat will be gradually adjusted upward no more than 4 degrees and for no more than 6 hours.
* The SmartAC Thermostat and installation by a certified technician are offered at no additional cost to you – a $200 value! Call to arrange a convenient time for installation.

Enroll in SmartAC today.

For more information, contact your local PG&E account representative or call 1-866-908-4916. For detailed information on SmartAC, please review the tariff for this program.

[phantom power]

4. Our local utility, SRP, has made some interesting changes this year.

They changed their time-of-use program to include off-peak, on-peak, and (for July and August) super-peak hours. I can't wait to find out what the new super-peak rates are.

For non time-of-use customers, they are instituting a tiered system, where you pay a lower rate for the first 2000 kWh, and a higher rate for any additional energy used.

And, of course, they raised rates.

[NNadir]

6. Peak pricing is one of the best ideas in energy.

[XemaSab]

5. 95 in the shade today

Hard to turn that AC off.

:grr: