August 22, 2003—The blackouts in the northeastern US and Canada are a dramatic reminder that North Americans’ consumption of electricity can readily outstrip our electric power infrastructure, says the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. While the cause of this outage is not yet certain, it is clear that hot summer temperatures led to high demand for air conditioning and severely taxed the region’s electricity system.
The ACEEE, an independent, nonprofit organization, says that the disaster highlights the need for energy efficiency, especially in air conditioning systems, to keep peak loads manageable. In addition, the ACEEE says that energy efficiency will help the looming natural gas problems that are projected to send consumer gas bills soaring this coming winter.
In 2002, ACEEE published a report, Energy Efficiency and Electric System Reliability, which reviewed energy efficiency programs that were specifically designed, modified, or ramped-up to address electric system reliability concerns during the summer of 2001, when a total of 21 states, representing most regions of the country, reported reliability problems or “close calls”.
The energy efficiency programs highlighted in the report achieved impressive results in a short period of time, and at a cost far less than would be required to build new power lines and generating plants. Most notable were programs in California, where the state launched a massive energy efficiency and conservation effort in early 2001 that has successfully helped prevent further power outages since that time.
A new analysis by ACEEE indicates that electricity savings of almost 1 percent and gas savings of about one-half of a percent could be achieved in residential and commercial energy use across the US within one year by implementing low-cost measures such as air conditioner tune-ups and caulking windows and doors. In the industrial sector, annual electricity savings of 1.2 percent and gas savings of almost 1 percent are achievable. That would be the equivalent of adding more than 5,000 megawatts of electricity generation, and could be done quicker and more cheaply than building new power plants or transmission lines.
For more information, contact ACEEE.
