Saint John Energy customers helped save the utility at least $150,000 during a new initiative earlier this week.
The utility issued its first #PeakAlert on Tuesday, urging customers to reduce their energy usage during peak demand.
Chloe Murphy, a spokesperson for the utility, said the goal was to keep fossil-burning peakers turned off and reduce peak energy generation costs.
“By being able to reduce the peak, we can reduce the environmental impact and also reduce the cost to help us keep our rates stable for customers,” said Murphy in an interview Wednesday.
Each month, the utility pays a standard energy rate and a peak energy rate. The peak energy rate works out to $14.64 per kW for the maximum kW reading each month, or more than $25 million a year. The lower the monthly peak demand, the less the utility pays.
Tuesday’s peak was expected to last from 9 to 11 a.m., but instead, it started shortly after 8 a.m. and continued until around 2 p.m.
During that time, temperatures in Saint John hovered around -17°C with wind chill values near -30.
Saint John Energy said it expects to share more details about the success of the #PeakAlert next week.
1/2 Our first #PeakAlert this week was a tremendous success, with our combined actions saving us $150,000 MINIMUM! Thank you, #SaintJohn! We'll share more details in our blog next week, including GHG savings. #poweringourfuture
Sign up to get notified: https://t.co/4krCAzy7Mk pic.twitter.com/393Pko454U
— Saint John Energy (@SJEnergy) March 4, 2021
