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[DSLF] Digest Number 558
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There are 4 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Residential conservation in NW saved energy
From: Stephen Pauley <spauley@cox-internet...>
2. Re: Virginia Enabling Legislation
From: "Glendon L. Howell" <glendonhowell@compuserve...>
3. Re: Residential conservation in NW saved energy
From: "Terry McGowan" <lighting@ieee...>
4. File - SplitLink.txt
From: DarkSky-list
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Message: 1
Date: Sun, 20 Jan 2002 19:15:05 -0700
From: Stephen Pauley <spauley@cox-internet...>
Subject: Residential conservation in NW saved energy
Read below to see the "power" of taking simple
residential energy conservation measures like
switching to cf's, and through offers of conservation
discounts by northwest utilities. When the utilities
needed the public, the public responded.
But guess what? They don't need us anymore.
With power supplies back to square one again,
the utilities withdrew all discount offers for
energy conservation. We now begin the cycle
all over again - to begin whenever the NW has
another year of drought.
Unfortunately, the use of more efficient outdoor
lighting was never part of the equation, but
should have been.
You may find the info. below useful in your
energy arguments for fco, lower wattage
lighting.
Steve Pauley
An article from the Spokesman Review (Spokane, WA)
1-18-02.
==========================
NW shows conservation really works
Residential customers save far more electricity than industry
Gene Johnson - Associated Press
SEATTLE _ Northwest residents saved more energy during last year's power
crunch than officials ever expected, turning upside-down the notion that
big energy savings are most likely to come from big industrial users.
"Demand for electricity is a lot more elastic than we thought," Marilyn
Showalter, chairwoman of the Washington Utilities and Transportation
Commission, said Thursday. "We had no idea the response would be this strong."
Nicolas Garcia, a policy strategist for the commission, said that from June
to October, residential customers of the three utilities the commission
regulates -- Puget Sound Energy, PacifiCorp and Avista Corp. -- cut their
power use by an estimated 622,000 megawatt-hours compared with the same
period in 2000. That's enough to power 44,000 homes for a year.
Compare that with the estimated 12,900 megawatt-hours the utilities saved
from January to September by buying back power from industrial users, or
the 16,400 megawatt-hours Avista and PacifiCorp saved by having farmers cut
back the use of their energy-guzzling irrigation pumps. Together, those
megawatt-hours would power about 2,100 homes.
The utilities provided the numbers to the commission, which has yet to
verify them, Garcia said.
Still, he added: "Before we got this data, most people thought the lion's
share of the savings would come from industrial customers. This was
unexpected."
In all, the three utilities cut their energy consumption in Washington
state by 2.1 percent, or 651,300 megawatt-hours, from January to October,
the commission reported.
In addition, the Bonneville Power Administration, which provides about 45
percent of the region's electricity, released figures Thursday showing its
utility customers last year saved roughly enough energy to supply 80,000
homes.
Energy and government officials last year urged people to switch to
efficient light bulbs and faucet heads and to find other ways to save power
in response to the region's energy crunch, caused in part by California's
failed electricity deregulation and compounded by a drought.
The BPA estimated that in response, residential customers installed 5
million low-energy, fluorescent light bulbs. Customers of Portland General
Electric redeemed about 1 million coupons for the bulbs.
Puget Sound Energy, Avista and PacifiCorp all offered discounts to
customers who cut energy use. For example, PacifiCorp offered a 10 percent
bill reduction for customers who cut energy use 10 percent, or a 20 percent
reduction for customers who cut it by 20 percent.
Puget Sound Energy also changed the way it charges customers, giving them
discounts for energy use in off-peak hours after 9 p.m. Customers responded
positively, Showalter said.
Showalter spoke Thursday at a two-day energy conference put on by Law
Seminars International. She focused on conservation.
One challenge will be having people continue to conserve now that the
energy crunch is over. The utilities are no longer offering bill reductions
as an incentive; now that energy prices have dropped again, it's not worth
it for them to pay customers to cut their use.
But in the long run, the potential savings from conservation are
tremendous, Showalter said.
"Too often, we're talking about whether we need more supply, more
transmission," Showalter said. "If you can reduce demand a little bit, it
makes a big difference."
Steve Pauley MD
Sun Valley, ID
Life is not measured by the number of
breaths we take, but by the moments
that take our breath away.
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Message: 2
Date: Sun, 20 Jan 2002 22:20:26 -0500
From: "Glendon L. Howell" <glendonhowell@compuserve...>
Subject: Re: Virginia Enabling Legislation
> In March of 2000, Connecticut DOT committed to using FCO lighting on all
new road projects
Thanks Cliff for the info! You're as helpful and thorough as usual!
Since CT-DOT has adopted FCO, I was wondering how uniformity issues were
being handled in both new and replacement installations --- i.e., by
ignoring the issue, by decreasing pole spacing, by increasing pole height,
or how?
Glen Howell <glendonhowell@compuserve...>
Va-IDA
Chesapeake, VA
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Message: 3
Date: Sun, 20 Jan 2002 22:33:01 -0500
From: "Terry McGowan" <lighting@ieee...>
Subject: Re: Residential conservation in NW saved energy
But there's some good news from out west too. The California Energy
Commission has authority to extend "Title 24" to outdoor lighting and a
large survey of "what's out there" is now being done for
commercial/industrial applications. There's a short fuse on the proposed
rules so the first review period is set for late this summer as I understand
it.
Terry McGowan
> But guess what? They don't need us anymore.
> With power supplies back to square one again,
> the utilities withdrew all discount offers for
> energy conservation. We now begin the cycle
> all over again - to begin whenever the NW has
> another year of drought.
>
> Unfortunately, the use of more efficient outdoor
> lighting was never part of the equation, but
> should have been.
> Steve Pauley
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Message: 4
Date: 21 Jan 2002 12:22:28 -0000
From: DarkSky-list
Subject: File - SplitLink.txt
Forum Productivity Hint -- Long Internet Links
This is an automated message so please do not respond in
the general messages. Any questions may be directed to:
darksky-list-owner@yahoogroups...
It appears the YahooGroups system has recently undergone
another *improvement* that everyone must be aware of...
When long Internet links split into two or more lines, a
back slash (\) character is now being appended to the first
line!
PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE THIS CHARACTER when you paste split
links to your web browsers because it does not belong there
and will often result with a *404 File Not Found* error.
Some Yahoo in the programming department has screwed up by
trying to make things more convenient for everyone. :-\
With links that split you must post each line to your browser
address bar separately so the cumulative URL is included. Be
sure the first part that has already been pasted is not highlighted
in your address bar when the next part is pasted or it will cause
it to be erased when you paste the next part of the link.
Sorry for the inconvenience this has caused. There is nothing
that I can do about this problem with the available system
settings from a sysop standpoint.
Best regards,
DarkSky List Forum Owner
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