West Plains, MO. – The Missouri Public Utility Alliance (MPUA) announced a peak usage alert to communities in south central Missouri on Monday, June 13. The MPUA is the utility resource for 120 municipalities in Missouri, Arkansas, and Illinois. Local communities that are part of MPUA include Ava, Cabool, Houston, Mountain Grove, Mountain View, Thayer, West Plains, Willow Springs, and Winona.
Excessive heat this week means peak electric usage could occur from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. from Monday, June 13 through Wednesday, June 15. MPUA wants hometown utilities to alert their customers to reduce electric consumption. Lowering demand during this time frame will keep the supply and demand situation stable. The most important thing to communicate at this time is that customers can control their energy costs by conserving. It also helps the community by keeping electric prices in check for their locally-owned utility. As of Monday morning, electric supplies should be able to meet demand but things could change quickly.
The MPUA offers tips on how to conserve energy during the summer peak hours:
• Set thermostat as high as possible while maintaining reasonable comfort levels.
• Set thermostats to 84 degrees when you’re away from home or install a programmable thermostat to do that automatically.
• For windows that receive direct sunlight, keep shades closed during the day.
• Wear lightweight, loose fitting clothes.
• Close fireplace damper to prevent cool air from escaping.
• Don’t block vents with furniture, curtains, or rugs.
• From 3:00 to 6:00 pm, avoid using heat producing appliances like ovens and dryers.
• Reduce the temperature setting on your water heater to 120 degrees or less.
• Clean the coils on the bottom or the back of your refrigerator regularly.
• Plant deciduous trees on the south and west sides of your house to keep it shaded in the summer.
• Take 5-minute showers instead of baths.
• Wash clothes in cool or cold water whenever possible.
• Remove weeds, grass, bushes, and other obstructions from around the outside AC condensing unit so air can flow freely.
• Recommended temperature for your refrigerator is 37 to 40 degrees and 5 degrees for the freezer.
• Inspect and clean your dryer vent tube on your dryer periodically. Built up lint can lead to longer drying times and can be a fire hazard.
• Run washer, dryer, and dishwasher only when you have full loads and during cool times of the day.
• Since some appliances use electricity all the time, plug them into a power saving electric strip or turn a regular strip off when the
appliances are not in use.
• Scrape your dishes rather than rinsing them before putting them in the dishwasher. Air dry dishes instead of using the drying cycle
feature on your dishwasher.
For more tips, visit the MPUA webpage at www.mpua.org
