Independence Day proved to be more than just hot, with NPPD's customers setting an
all-time energy usage peak of an estimated 3,036 megawatts (MW) Wednesday.
The new
all-time peak bettered a previous record of 2,851 megawatts reached the day
before, July 3. Prior to this, NPPD's last all-time peak was 2,671
megawatts set on July 30, 2006.
"NPPD utilized the diversity of all its power plants
and resources, generating power with nearly every type of fuel available
(nuclear, coal, wind, natural gas and water) to meet our customers'
needs," said NPPD Energy Manager Ron Thompson. "We also purchased
power from the energy market when necessary."
While operational programs are in place to reduce the
amount of power NPPD may need to generate for customers or curtail customers'
loads with their permission, NPPD did not make any voluntary load reduction
requests yesterday and was able to cover customers' needs with its own power
plant resources or energy market purchases.
Yet, such a great amount of electricity carried across
Nebraska's transmission system, along with the possibility of fluctuating
voltages on the transmission lines, can tax system transformers, substations,
and other equipment associated with power delivery.
Brief outages can occur if power lines become
overloaded, and NPPD urges customers to conserve energy when possible.
Because high temperatures are expected through the rest
of this week and weekend, customers are encouraged to conserve electricity,
especially between 3 and 8 p.m. when energy use is at its highest. Some of
the easiest ways to conserve energy are to:
- Raise your thermostat to a higher setting and turn on
fans.
- Close
drapes on windows that face the sun.
- Grill
outdoors or use your microwave instead of the stovetop or oven.
- Delay
dishwashing and laundry until after 8 p.m.
- Unplug
appliances and shut off lights that are not in use.
- Do any
baking early in the morning before it gets hot outside.
- Shower
early in the morning or later in the evening.
"Collectively, every little bit can help," Thompson said. "Imagine if the nearly 1 million Nebraskans ultimately connected
to NPPD's electrical grid turned up their thermostats one or two degrees or ran
their electrical appliances like washers, dryers, dishwashers, etc. after 8
p.m. or before 8 a.m., we would likely see reduced demand on the system as a
whole."
NPPD's system operators manage much of Nebraska's
electric grid outside of the Omaha and Lincoln areas. NPPD works in close partnership
with the public power utilities that purchase NPPD's generation and deliver it
to their customers.
Together, the utilities monitor the electrical load needed
by each utility and try to mitigate or adjust the load on the lines to handle
the varying customer demands as efficiently and effectively as possible.
"We are
constantly assessing what is driving our load," NPPD System Control
Manager Ron Gunderson said. "Irrigation demands in one area of the state,
coupled with air conditioning loads in nearby communities, can put great demand
on the system. However, good rainfall can reduce the need for irrigation and
slightly reduced temperatures in another area of the state can decrease the
demand from air conditions and, in turn, reduce load on the system
overall."
Wednesday, transmission lines in both the north central
part of the state and around the area of Gothenburg were heavily loaded. NPPD
saw a number of transformers and sub-transmission lines approaching their
limits, but in most cases, such as with Dawson Public Power District and
Southern Public Power District, NPPD was able to work with its wholesale
partners to move load to keep the loading within limits.
There were a couple of
outages related to sub-transmission lines exceeding their capability, which resulted
in customer outages. Load was transferred to other sources to permit the
customers service to be restored.
"Considering the extremely high loads that were
experienced, the system performed remarkably well," Gunderson said.
"NPPD and its wholesale partners' personnel did an excellent job of
managing the transmission and distribution system during this difficult
period."
