Photo: It is going to be a scorcher.

With the high-temperature in New England today, Monday, July 18, expected to hit the low to mid-90 degrees, electrical utilities across the region – including Belmont’s Light Department – are anticipating a high electricity use day, putting a strain on the power grid.

To save energy and money by reducing electricity consumption, Belmont Light and the Woburn-based energy efficiency firm Sagewell are asking customers to turn down their electrical consumption today between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.

The utility and its partner are asking Belmont residents and businesses to take at least two steps listed below to reduce their peak electricity consumption:

• Adjust your AC a few degrees warmer and turn off the AC in rooms that are not in use. Changing the thermostat by two or three degrees makes a big difference.
• Enjoy the sunny weather and cook outside on a grill, or visit a local Belmont restaurant for dinner
• Don’t cook with an electric stove or oven.
• Shift laundry and dishwasher use until after 6 p.m.
• If you have an electric water heater, wait to bathe or use hot water until after 6 p.m.
• Run pool pumps or use hot tubs before three p.m. or after 6 p.m.
• Shift other electricity uses to before 3 p.m. or after 6 p.m.

“Every bit of electricity reduced during peak times will help Belmont mitigate rising electricity costs,” said a joint press release dated Sunday, July 17.

Because Belmont Light is town-owned, any savings from this program are passed onto ratepayers,” it read.

Any questions or advice on how to decrease peak energy consumption, contact Sagewell’s Belmont Light Peak Reduction Program at:
support@sagewell.com or
617-963-8141

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