Returning Heat Has Energy Provider Seeking Conservation

So far so good when it has come to the town's electrical service delivering power to residents during some of the most challenging summer conditions the town has faced in years.

But with very hot temperatures returning in the next few days, Belmont Municipal Light Department customers must be ready to moderate their electrical usage once again.

Tim Richardson, BMLD General Manager, said the hot weather and high humidity levels that began the day after the Fourth of July and lasted for five days did not have any effect on the town's electrical capacity.

There was the one brief outage reported on Sunday, July 11 on Claflin Street when about 21 BMLD customers were without power due to a problem with a transformer wire.

The wire was replaced and power was back on within 10 minutes.

Richardson noted that incident was not heat related.

But weather forecasts are predicting a return of hot, steamy weather for the rest of this week and into the weekend with temperatures reaching and exceeding 90 degrees for each day.

"Please keep up the good work and continue to reduce your energy consumption during these hot, summer days and nights," said Richardson, as BMLD customers heeded its advice during the extended heat advisories and reduced their energy use.

Customers are being asked to reduce the electrical load during peak times – from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. during the work week – by reducing or rescheduling their electrical use whenever possible.

BMLD simple measures, such as closing shades and drapes during the day or turning off unnecessary lights in the workplace, can go a long way in helping reduce electrical consumption.

Other ways to conserve electrical consumption include:

Run appliances such as washing machines, dryers, ovens, and dishwashers in the early morning or late at night.

Use a microwave to cook, or a barbecue outside, if possible.

Set your air conditioner thermostat no lower than 78 degrees. Each degree lower increases cooling costs by 6 percent.

If you have a room air-conditioner, close off the rooms not being used; if you have central air, close the vents in unused rooms.

Keep cool with fans, air conditioning, and cool baths or showers. You can make your own air conditioner by placing a bowl of ice in front of a fan and letting it blow on you.