Snohomish County PUD asks customers to conserve energy, water as usage soars

EVERETT, Wash. - Officials with Snohomish County PUD are asking customers to conserve energy and water as the June heat wave increases demand.

The utility expects to record its highest ever demand for energy and water in June sometime Monday afternoon or evening.

"As we prepare to meet today’s high energy demands, we are paying close attention to ensure we have enough power to meet our customers’ usage," said Jason Zyskowski, PUD Assistant General Manager of Generation, Power, Rates and Transmission Management. "But each customer making small changes to conserve energy can collectively help us keep power demand down."

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Officials are asking customers to try to conserve energy on hot summer days - especially when usage peaks after noon and before 10 p.m.

Snohomish County PUD provided these tips to conserve energy:

Keep your thermostat up to 78 degrees: If you have central air conditioning, turn your thermostat up to 78 degrees when you’re home and 84 degrees when you’re not. You can save 3-5% in home cooling costs for every degree you raise it.
Close the blinds: Closing your blinds, shades or curtains on warm days keeps the sun’s rays out and helps keep your home cool. If you have air conditioning, it can also help you save energy, blocking up to 45% of the sun’s warmth.
Use small appliances in the kitchen: While preparing meals, use a crock pot, toaster oven or microwave instead of your full-sized range or oven to keep your home cooler and save energy. These small appliances use only 20-50% of the energy needed to cook the same meal on your stove top or oven. Better yet, fire up the grill and take meal prep outside.
Wait to run dishwasher, laundry: Avoid using your dishwasher or washing machine and dryer until later at night. Also take a cool shower instead a warm one.

They also offer these tips on conserving water outdoors:

Adjust your sprinklers so that they’re watering your lawn and garden, and not the street or sidewalk.
Water early in the morning (before 10 a.m.) or later in the evening (after 6 p.m.) when temperatures are cooler and evaporation is minimized.
Apply the amount of water your soil can absorb. Water thoroughly, but infrequently. If run off or puddling occurs, break longer watering sessions into several short sessions allowing water to soak into the soil between each session.

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