Cold Weather Equals Hot Power Bill

If you remember, Santa brought cold weather with him this past Christmas, and just like Clark Griswold’s Jelly-of-the-Month Club “Christmas bonus,” it’s going to be the gift that keeps on giving.

Coosa Valley Electric Cooperative purchases the power it sells to you from PowerSouth Energy Cooperative in Andalusia. When PowerSouth bills us, they charge us for the energy usage and energy demand. I’m sure you’re probably wondering now what the difference is between “usage” and “demand.”

When you turn on an appliance, it demands a certain amount of electricity. Take a 100watt light bulb. Turn it on, it demands 100 watts. Leave it on for an hour, it will use 100 watt hours. Leave it on for 10 hours, it will use 1 kilowatt hour (kWh).

Usage is simply electricity used over time. As you, our consumers, use more electricity, that usage adds up. And your cooperative pays monthly for the total of all consumer usage.

Demand, on the other hand, is assessed in 15-minute intervals. PowerSouth will bill us for the highest amount of demand it sees from our system (in a 15-minute window) during the month. The good news is, not everyone uses power at the same time — usually. Even within our homes, we do not turn on all our appliances at the same time.

The largest energy users in homes by far are heating and cooling systems. On average, they account for about 35 percent of energy used.

That percentage goes higher during extreme cold because our heat pumps no longer operate with the same efficiency. So, they end up using and demanding more electricity. This may help you understand why your power bills typically run more during the winter.

When your bills run higher, our system-wide power bills follow suit, making winter our peak season. Now let’s look at the impact of demand on our system.

In the summer, when temperatures are at their hottest, our system — as a whole — demands around 65 megawatts. It would be higher, but because cooling systems cycle on and off as they work to maintain temperatures in our homes, it is not. That cycling keeps consumers' cooling systems from all running at the exact same times.

In the spring and fall, when temperatures are mild, we see a substantial drop in usage and demand, with demand running around 35-40 megawatts.

In the winter, things get interesting. We typically hit our peak in January or February, but this winter it hit in December. At least, let’s hope it doesn’t get worse than what we’ve already experienced.

The extreme cold temperatures we saw around Christmas pushed our system demand to 110 megawatts. That’s a full 45 megawatts, or 41 percent, higher than summer and represents the highest peak we’ve ever set. What does all this mean?

PowerSouth charges us separately for demand and usage because demand is what forces PowerSouth to build power plants. Regardless of how much energy is used and how long it is used, PowerSouth must have the capacity to generate the electricity that is being demanded.

Periods of extremely high demand force PowerSouth to charge us more because it costs them more to supply that demand. They then spread that additional cost over the next year. We do not discuss this much because thankfully this type of event doesn’t happen every year. When it does, it will impact your power bills.

Our best advice: Watch your electricity use and cut back wherever possible. Set thermostats lower during colder temperatures and higher during warmer temperatures. Turn off lights in unoccupied parts of your home and turn off and unplug appliances when not in use.

We hope your 2023 is off to a good start. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for an early and calm spring.

Efficient Energy Use Benefits All Members

Using less electricity naturally saves money, but using electricity efficiently at certain times can save you and other cooperative members even more!

Throughout the year, Coosa Valley Electric Cooperative experiences “peak demand” periods — when members use the most energy at any one time. Typically peaks occur anywhere from 5 to 9 a.m. in the winter and from 3 to 7 p.m. in the summer during cold snaps or heat waves.

These peaks determine a lot of the cooperative’s costs.

First, the cooperative must have the proper infrastructure in place to deliver power at all times. Increases in demand can create a need for more or larger substations, or it can lead to equipment upgrades needed to handle increased demand.

Second, the highest annual peak affects the rates at which the cooperative purchases power for the next year. Larger peaks result in higher costs for the cooperative and its members.

But You Can Help!

• Avoid using large appliances like water heaters, washers, dryers or ovens unnecessarily during peak hours. A little planning with tasks like laundry, cooking or bathing can help shift major energy demands to better hours.

• Keep your thermostats at reasonable temperatures. In the winter, set thermostats at 68 degrees. In the summer, choose 78 degrees.

• Heat or cool the person, not the house. Cuddling under a blanket, using a small space heater or wearing extra layers can keep a person warm without having to heat the entire house. In the summer, use fans to stay cool and run the air conditioner less.

Together these efforts will keep energy rates reasonable!

Training Day:

Coosa Valley Electric Cooperative will be closed to the public on Feb. 20, Presidents Day, for an employee training day. The office will resume normal business hours on Feb. 21. Payments can be made online at coosavalleyec.com, at any MoneyGram location or by using the interactive phone menu at 800-273-7210.

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