To All Our Bryan Electric Customers–
Extremely low temperatures will continue over the next couple mornings. At this time, Bryan Municipal Utilities is hereby respectfully requesting your voluntary assistance in reducing your local electric loads on Friday, January 30th from 7AM – 9AM. This reduction in our local electric loads during peak demand alert times helps to avoid additional capacity charges from the PJM Interconnection regional transmission organization and additional transmission costs from American Electric Power. On Tuesday, January 27th a new winter peak was set and each day since, that peak has been challenged. Our BMU staff has been working diligently every morning to offset these peaks with our local generation units to reduce Bryan’s energy load on the electrical grid with hopes to save the City millions of dollars in additional capacity and transmission costs and we need your help.
If you have processes that can be interrupted, operated at reduced levels for a few hours, or scheduled to a different time without creating major business disruptions, it will help make a difference. If you can simply turn off any unnecessary lights, air compressors, computers, or other electric-powered equipment, or set heating thermostats to the lowest comfortable temperature, it will also help.
BMU plans to operate the Bryan Power Plant generating units, Bryan Solar Field, and Auglaize Hydroelectric Plant during these peak demand periods. We will also interrupt the operation of the Water Department well pumps and water treatment plant and rely on the City’s two water towers to maintain system pressure. At the utility office, we will turn off unnecessary lights and electric-powered equipment and set heating thermostats to the lowest comfortable temperature.
BMU will post updated notices on the BMU Facebook page asking electric customers to voluntarily conserve energy during the peak demand periods. If you have any questions regarding this request, feel free to contact Derek Schultz, Director of Utilities at 419-633-6101.
Thank you for your planning and assistance during these extreme weather conditions to help conserve energy. Collectively, even small efforts can make an impact to reduce energy costs for all Bryan customers.