Today's Outlook for Megawatt Usage?

The California ISO is a non-profit that mediates between the power companies (available power) and the consumers (wanted power). This interesting relationship is portrayed on their website www.caiso.com/ where they provide an graph of today's megawatt output and demand, right next to a conserve-o-meter. Kinda funny, but really helpful and easy to understand. On warm days like this, when all of California rushes to turn on their air conditoning en masse (I even got a call from Ranchos Palos Verdes today saying they were cranking on their air), it's easy to forget what exactly is happening to the power grid. Here is today's graph: Right now (as shown also on the graph) we are at peak demand! That's tough. Conserve where you can by turning off and un plugging appliances that you aren't using and waiting to run laundry or dish-washers after 7pm.

Something Funny...

Public service announcements are always fun to watch...especially when they are really 'bad.' This one is pretty funny and can put electricity in a new perspective. This public service announcement for Energy Star makes fun of the lengths gone to to save energy. While it may be a funny way to show it, energy star appliances can save a homeowner money on their energy bill. Adding a thermostat to your central air condtioner can be an especially good idea. It costs more to constantly cool a house than it does to maintain a cool temperature. Check back tomorrow!