JACKSON, Mich., Aug. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A regional power alert
has prompted Consumers Energy and other Midwest utilities to ask customers
to reduce their use of electricity immediately.
Record high customer demand led the region's electric power
coordinator, the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO),
to issue an Energy Emergency Alert Level 2. MISO is the power coordinator
for 15 Midwest states and the province of Manitoba.
As part of that MISO alert, Midwest utilities are asking customers to
reduce their electricity use starting immediately and through the current
heat wave.
Consumers Energy asked its customers to reduce their power use
immediately Monday afternoon as high heat and humidity sent the demand for
electricity soaring.
Even with customer conservation, the demand for power on the utility's
system reached an all-time record high of 8,790 megawatts from 4 p.m. to 5
p.m. Monday. That eclipsed the previous record of 8,474 megawatts set on
Aug. 3, 2005.
At 1 p.m. today, customer demand for electricity was heading toward
another record level.
Consumers Energy asks customers to take the following steps:
* Raise the temperature setting on air conditioning thermostats by
several degrees. A setting of 78 degrees provides comfort and energy
efficiency.
* Use the clothes washer, clothes dryer, dishwasher, electric oven, and
any other high-consumption electric appliances early in the morning or
after 8 p.m.
* Open the refrigerator or freezer as little as possible.
* Turn off all unnecessary lights and non-essential appliances during the
day.
* Close off air ducts to rooms which are not used. Close window curtains
and drapes to reduce solar heating.
* If you have a well pump, don't water lawns.
Additional tips on reducing electricity use are available at the "Heat
Alert" banner on the Consumers Energy website:
http://www.consumersenergy.com .
Consumers Energy, the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy, provides
natural gas and electricity to nearly 6.5 million of Michigan's 10 million
residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.
SOURCE Consumers Energy
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Related links:
http://www.consumersenergy.com
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/203850.html /
CONTACT:
Jeff Holyfield, +1-517-788-2394, Dan Bishop,
+1-517-788-2395, Tim Pietryga, +1-616-530-4364, or Terry DeDoes,
+1-517-374-2159, all of Consumers Energy
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