AEP Urges Conservation as Extremely Cold Temperatures Could Mean Record Breaking Electricity Usage

OHIO – AEP Ohio, a unit of American Electric Power (NYSE:AEP), is urging customers to conserve electricity this week as more frigid temperatures descend upon the region.

Prompted by the extreme cold forecast, PJM Interconnection, the electricity grid operator for more than 61 million people in 13 states and the District of Columbia, requested Monday that customers of all of its member utilities – including AEP Ohio – conserve electricity Tuesday.

The wave of frigid weather is expected to push up demand for electricity to potentially record-breaking levels, straining the capacity of the nation’s power grid. Using energy efficiently will help ensure that adequate supplies of electricity are available to all.

The demand for electricity and the need for conservation is expected to be the highest Tuesday. AEP Ohio asks consumers to conserve electricity, if health permits – especially from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Tuesday as well as between 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Simple ways to conserve electricity and stay warm include:

Set thermostats as low as appropriate to maintain health and comfort.
Postpone using major electric appliances, such as stoves, dishwashers, and clothes dryers until mid-day or after 9 p.m., when the demand for electricity decreases.
Turn off electric lights and appliances that you do not need or are not using.
Keep doors and windows closed as much as possible, including overhead doors on the attached garages.
Seal off unheated, unused rooms.
Open curtains on the sunny side of the house to warm up your home. No sun? Close the shades to keep warm air in.
Unless it is equipped specifically for home heating, use fireplaces sparingly. Warm air escapes through the chimney so close the damper when not in use.
Cover hot water pipes with an insulating jacket and set the water heater to between 120 and 130 degrees.

Its also important to note that some of your appliances or even your water heater may be old and inefficient compared to that of newer models, which is another reason as to why you’re using more electricity than you wanted. This is when it is essential to carry out some of the necessary checks to ensure you’re prepared for the winter. You could do this yourself, or you could check out sites similar to castlehomecomfort.com/heating/heating-tune-up/ in the hopes of finding a professional heating tune-up company to fix the issue if you were to encounter any or make use of other professional services depending on the issue at hand. Alternatively, you could find new models to save on water usage and to decrease your utility bills, but be sure to compare new water heaters online depending on what new appliance you’re after.

AEP Ohio also encourages consumers to keep safety in mind when heating their homes:

Take extreme care when using space heaters. Place at least three feet away from anything that can burn, including walls, and unplug it before leaving the room.
Never use a stove or oven to heat your home.
If using a fireplace, use a glass or metal fire screen large enough to catch sparks or rolling logs.
Use generators correctly – never operate one inside your home, including the basement or garage.
Guard against carbon monoxide poisoning. Make sure you have working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and that their batteries are fresh.
Prevent your pipes from freezing by running a constant trickle of water. Open the kitchen and bathroom cabinets to allow warmer air to circulate around the plumbing.

These actions not only will help customers conserve energy, but also will help mitigate the impact of higher electricity bills due to usage.

AEP Ohio has lineman ready to respond should electric service be impacted throughout its territory. If an outage occurs, please call 1-800-672-2231 or click the “Report an Outage” link at AEPOhio.com. The status of outages also can be checked by clicking the “Check an Outage Status” link on the website.