PSEG Long Island urges customers to cut electric use during heat advisory

PSEG Long Island urges customers to cut electric use during heat advisory

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In order to ensure sufficient electrical supply at a time of sustained extreme heat and humidity and the successive failures of third-party owned supply systems, PSEG Long Island is following established procedures to address resource capacity concerns. Based on current system conditions, PSEGLong Island is now urging all customers on Long Island and in the Rockaways to reduce electric use as much as possible during the peak hours of 3 and 7 p.m. today.

In addition to the typical demand challenges faced during high heat, PSEG Long Island has been working with the third-party owners of two interconnections that provide electricity to the service area and currently require repairs.

While PSEG Long Island has taken emergency measures to bring additional capacity online and will continue to implement available options in accordance with established contingency plans, today’s peak demand is at risk of exceeding the available energy supply. Reductions in customer energy use are also required to reduce demand.

PSEG Long Island urges customers to:

  • Eliminate ALL nonessential electric use.
  • Run air conditioners only if needed for health reasons.
  • Use fans instead of air conditioners when possible.
  • If air conditioning is needed, set home thermostats or air conditioner units to 78 degrees.
  • Only run nonessential home appliances such as washing machines, dishwashers and pool pumps in the morning or late evening to avoid the peak demand hours of 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
  • Do not cool an empty house. Set your thermostat higher when you are away, or use a smart thermostat to control the temperature in your home. Customers can receive an incentive on qualifying thermostats for enrolling in PSEG Long Island’s Smart Savers Thermostat program, which can be used to control usage during peak summer days. Visit https://www.psegliny.com/smartsavers for more details.
  • Commercial customers may sign up for the Commercial System Relief program. Visit https://www.psegliny.com/contactus/businessandcommercialsavings/csrp for more details.
  • Close blinds and draperies facing the sun to keep out the sun’s heat.
  • Set your ceiling fan to spin quickly, counterclockwise to push air downward toward the floor
  • Businesses should reduce lighting use to a minimum
  • Commercial buildings should set air conditioners to maximum efficiency and raise the thermostat setting

PSEG Long Island will also ask its Major Accounts customers, the largest in the service area, to voluntarily curtail their electric consumption.

Customers participating in the Direct Load Control – Smart Savers Thermostat Program will have their temperature increased by 4 degrees on home central air conditioning units via the internet between the hours of 3 and 7 p.m. today. Approximately 31,000 PSEG Long Island customers island-wide participate in Smart Savers. Commercial customers participating in Demand Response programs will receive financial incentives for committing to reduce their electric use during peak periods. Activating these programs can save about 45 MWs of electrical demand.

Long Island and the Rockaways may also experience outages due to excessive heat and the potential loss of supply. PSEG Long Island has mobilized extra repair crews, who are working 16-hour shifts around the clock to restore outages safely and as quickly as possible. Customers who experience an outage should call 1-800-490-0075.

State, city, and county emergency management authorities, and local elected officials have been notified by PSEG Long Island.

The safety of PSEG Long Island’s customers and employees is the company’s top priority.

PSEG Long Island wants to make sure customers who rely on electric life support equipment are aware of this event so that they can make arrangements in case they do lose power. PSEG Long Island urges customers to be prepared and to stay safe during this event. In the event of a medical emergency please call 911.

During extreme heat conditions, PSEG Long Island encourages all customers to:

  • Seek out air-conditioned spaces (if safe) if their homes become too warm.
  • Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water. Avoid drinks with caffeine or alcohol.
  • Avoid wearing dark colors because they absorb the sun’s rays.
  • Never leave children or pets alone in enclosed vehicles.
  • Avoid strenuous exercise during the hottest part of the day, which is between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Visit PSEG Long Island at:  www.psegliny.com