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UniSource Requests Second Day of Voluntary Energy Conservation from 3-8 p.m.

Kingman, Ariz. – After yesterday’s call for conservation helped avert regional energy shortages, UniSource Energy Services is asking customers again today to reduce energy use between 3-8 p.m. to limit strain on the western grid.

Although UniSource expects to have enough energy to serve our customers, we’re joining other Arizona utilities in calling for a second day of voluntary energy conservation to support reliability throughout the southwestern United States. Similar calls are being issued by Arizona Public Service, Tucson Electric Power and Trico.

“We saw a meaningful impact on peak energy use as customers responded to the call yesterday,” said Erik Bakken, Vice President of System Operations and Energy Resources. “Thank you to everyone who participated, and we appreciate continued efforts again today as we try to do our part to support regional electric reliability”

Today is likely the last day such efforts will be needed, Bakken said, as weather forecasts and wholesale energy prices indicate easing pressure on energy supplies beginning tomorrow.

Customers can help reduce energy use between 3-8 p.m. today by following these measures:

  • Turn up the thermostat to 78 or higher. Customers can consider pre-cooling their homes to lower temperatures before 3 p.m. to improve comfort afterward.
  • Avoid using non-essential appliances and equipment.
  • Adjust timers to ensure that pool pumps operate at night, not during the day.
  • Avoid using electric laundry dryers or other heat-generating appliances during the day that can raise the temperature inside your home or business.
  • Close shades, blinds or curtains to keep sunlight out, especially during the afternoon in rooms facing west.

Additional conservation tips are available online at uesaz.com/tips.

California residents have been subject to rolling blackouts and calls for energy conservation amid blazing heat, power plant outages and reduced renewable energy output, a situation described earlier this week as a “perfect storm” by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), which oversees that state’s electric grid.

While UniSource is not selling energy to California, these conditions have limited supplies and increased prices on the wholesale energy market in both California and Arizona. UniSource and other Arizona utilities rely on that market to supplement the resources we’ve secured to serve our own customers’ energy needs.

UniSource provides electric service to more than 96,000 customers in Mohave and Santa Cruz counties. The company also provides natural gas to more than 160,000 customers in northern and southern Arizona. For more information about UniSource, visit uesaz.com. UniSource and its parent company, UNS Energy, are subsidiaries of Fortis, Inc., which owns utilities that serve more than 3 million customers across Canada and in the United States and the Caribbean. To learn more, visit fortisinc.com.

News Media Contact
Joseph Barrios
520-884-3725
jbarrios@uesaz.com