Star Staff Reports
Due to subfreezing temperatures throughout the southern United States and unusually high demand for electricity across the Tennessee Valley, TVA and MLGW have issued an “energy conservation alert” effective at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, January 16.
Customers are asked to voluntarily reduce electrical usage as much as possible to reduce the likelihood of brownouts and blackouts.
Fast energy reduction will make the biggest immediate impact:
• If you are drying clothes, turn the machine off and let the items continue air drying. The clothes dryer is a huge energy hog.
• Set your thermostat to 68 degrees or lower to avoid unnecessary operation of the blower on your furnace or electric heat pump.
• Unplug electric vehicles.
• Turn off all electric space heaters.
• Turn off all interior lights during the day and keep on only enough light at night to feel safe. Don’t forget indoor and outdoor holiday lights, as well as your outside porch light.
• Do not run the clothes washing machine or the dishwasher, and if possible do not use the electric range or electric oven for cooking during the conservation alert.
• Do not use blow dryers, toasters, or other high consumption appliances that use electric resistance as their heat source.
• Keep the refrigerator and freezer on, but keep the doors closed. Every time the door is opened the inside warms up a bit and energy is needed to bring the temperature back down.
• Turn off and unplug everything that isn’t in use and turn off electric power strips. That way you cut vampire energy use as well. Thank you in advance for helping us avoid more dramatic actions.
