On the hottest days of the year, members of North Western Electric Cooperative may receive a peak alert, indicating that the cooperative expects higher-than-normal energy demand, especially during “peak hours” – usually between 1 and 7 p.m. The more electricity that is consumed during those hours, the higher the cost. NWEC members can help us control costs and manage electric demand on the hottest days by limiting their electric consumption during peak hours, keeping costs low for everyone. Your help with energy efficiency now can result in savings for you later! 

Follow these simple tips to reduce energy use and save money:

🌡️ If you need to do laundry, consider doing it in the morning or after 7 p.m.
🌡️ Plan meals that can be prepared in a crock pot, microwave, or on the grill. If you have to bake something in the oven, do it in the morning to avoid adding extra heat inside your home during the hottest part of the day.
🌡️ Wait to run your dishwasher until later at night when temperatures drop.
🌡️ Keep your curtains and blinds closed during the day to keep the sun from heating your home.
🌡️ Increase the temperature on your air conditioner so it does not cycle as often. If it is 90+ degrees outside (with high humidity) and your thermostat is set to 68, that is over a 20-degree difference that your cooling system must work hard to accomplish!
🌡️ Turn off lights and small appliances that are not needed.
🌡️ Avoid doing any tasks that would require hot water, like showering or hand-washing dishes. Plan to do these things before or after the hottest part of the day.
🌡️ If you can follow these tips any day that you see the thermometer rising, you are not only saving energy, you are saving money for yourself and the whole community!

Watch our Facebook page and our website for more details and alerts. Do the lights on the radio control switch by your water heater look different than normal? It could mean that the radio control switch has been activated as part of our load management program. Learn more about the ways this saves everyone money.