Originally Posted By Mrs ElderP First, despite the rip off topic title this has nothing to do with Oboma. Anyway, has anybody else heard about Juno's unexpected experiment with electricity usage? To sum up, a massive avalanche took down the power wires between Juno's electricity plant and the town. The town did have diesel generators, enough to supply electricty for everyone, but of course diesel fuel is not exactly cheap these days. Members of the town were informed that their rates were going to go from about 11 cents a kilowat hour to 52.5 cents a kilowat hour. With that sort of incentive the good residents of Juno were able to almost immediatly cut electricity consumption by about 40%. They did this with no more "new technology" than is available to the rest of us and no new sudden influx of money to upgrade. The more suprising thing is that since to power lines have been fixed the usage hasn't suddenly jumped back up. Don't get me wrong, it's going back up. However, they're still down 13% from this month last year. So, what's the moral here: 1. Green guilt trips are all well and good, but there's nothing like a steep price hike to really cut consumption. (Ahemm, $4 a gallon gas) 2. Once people are forced to conserve they can get used to that too, to a degree. Anyway, I thought it was interesting. Two short articles on the subject: <a href="http://www.eere.energy.gov/news/news_detail.cfm/news_id=11802" target="_blank">http://www.eere.energy.gov/new...id=11802</a> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/17/us/17briefs-TURNINGTHEPO_BRF.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss" target="_blank">http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07...&emc=rss</a>
Originally Posted By ShivaThDestroyer Mrs P, as usual you are right on track. As you already know, I work for a large NorCal utility. My opinion has always been that, while conservation programs may help to a certain degree, most people will not really cut back until it hits them right in the pocketbook. The bad thing about energy consumption is that you always get the bill after the fact and usually aren't aware of your usage until that bill come in. I have spoken with some VERY surprised customers over the years. You also mentioned gas prices at the pumps, I think it's fair to say that the same rule applies and we'll see less recreational driving and people buying more fuel efficient cars and planning their driving to incorporate multiple stops instead of just one. I usually don't post in WE but this topic is actually more serious than many people would think. Many thanks for addressing it.
Originally Posted By mrkthompsn Check this out. Kraft built a refrigerated plant underground to conserve electricity. <a href="http://www.kraft.com/MediaCenter/country-press-releases/us/2008/us_pr_06102008a.htm" target="_blank">http://www.kraft.com/MediaCent...008a.htm</a>
Originally Posted By Mrs ElderP that plant is cool, and smart!! (You could possibly even say, kraft-y, ha ha!!)
Originally Posted By Elderp "Many thanks for addressing it. " Many thanks for posting, if anyone knows the ins and outs of this topic it would be you. I have to say in general it is just the way it goes. People don't do much till it hits the pocketbook.
