Southcentral Alaska residents cut energy use during test

Oct 25 - Anchorage Daily News

Southcentral Alaska residents cut their energy use by 2 to 4 percent last Wednesday during a two-hour energy-conservation drill led by the local governments, according to Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan's office.

Consumers and business owners were asked to turn down their thermostats, switch off unneeded lights, avoid running washer/dryers and take other steps between 6 and 8 p.m. Wednesday. The goal was to gauge how much energy could be saved through simple conservation efforts in a time when the local natural gas supply isn't large enough to meet expected demand for home heating and electricity.

Last week's drill was the second such test in as many years. The voluntary conservation during both years' drills was similar, Sullivan's office said.

Utilities involved in the drill commissioned a Hays Research Group poll of 408 Southcentral residents this past weekend. The poll found that 69 percent were aware of a possible natural gas delivery problem, and about 55 percent were aware of last Wednesday's test. About one-third said they participated in the test, Sullivan's office said.

A natural gas shortage most likely could occur during a severe winter cold snap. The local governments and utilities say they don't believe such a shortage will happen this winter, but the drill gave them an idea of the minimum amount that consumers could voluntarily cut their energy demand if necessary.

Utilities and governments that participated in the drill include Anchorage, the Kenai Peninsula Borough, the Mat-Su Borough, Enstar Natural Gas Co., Chugach Electric Association, Municipal Light & Power, Matanuska Electric Association and Homer Electric Association.

-----

To see more of the Anchorage Daily News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.adn.com.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.