Power to the people: Conservation, alternate sources of energy needed to meet growth in the Northwest

On Monday, July 24, 2006, Avista Utilities set a new benchmark — the summer daily peak energy demand matched that of the peak winter demand.

It came during one of the longest, hottest spells in the area’s history, while a large part of the rest of the country was also facing heat waves not seen in years, even decades.

"The summer load is growing faster than the winter load," said Ron Peterson, vice president of energy resources for Avista Utilities.

With less hydroelectric power available in the summer, "We had to bring on our more expensive generation facilities," Peterson said. Those less-efficient plants and voluntary cutbacks by consumers which Avista requested earlier in the week prevented what would have been delayed, extreme sticker shock.

By RICK THOMAS
Staff writer

Full Story: http://www.cdapress.com/articles/2006/07/30/news/news02.txt