Mayoral Message

You made it through the winter. Give yourself a hand! I’m only being partly facetious. I understand that our winters are tame compared to elsewhere, but I have been here since 1978; I’m not a cold-weather person.

As we head into our warmer months and begin to turn on our air-conditioning units, we should be careful not to overdo it. According to Rene Fleming, Energy and Water Customer Service Manager for the City of St. George, when temperatures soar locally or in the western area of the country, “the stress on the overall system can create difficulties.”

“Difficulties” can mean many things. I certainly don’t want to sound an alarm disproportionate to the risk, but we must be mindful of our consumption during the summer months of June, July, and August. A service interruption—that is, a blackout—is possible in certain circumstances.

Utility customers can help mitigate these stresses and prevent extended service interruptions by conserving energy, which helps save money on power. From June 1 through August 31, we will conduct the Use Less, Save More campaign. This three-tiered, color-coded system will alert customers of the need to conserve.

Rene wrote about this in our current Inside St. George magazine, available at all city offices and the offices of some of our community partners, including Greater Zion, the Washington County Water Conservancy District, and the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce. I’ll briefly summarize the information she conveyed:

Green alert

• Set your thermostat a couple of degrees higher than your comfort level, and use a fan to move the air.

• Turn off the fan when you leave the room. The fan cools you, not the room.

• Leave air vents open.

• Close the drapes to reduce the amount of heat transfer into your home from the windows.

Orange alert

On orange days, we expect high energy use, particularly between the peak hours of 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

• Avoid using the oven, dishwasher, and laundry machines.

• Avoid charging plug-in electric vehicles.

Red alert

Red days indicate exceptionally high demand or an unplanned event that may affect the power system, such as a wildfire. There may be power interruptions if we cannot reduce demand on the power system.

• Set the thermostat at 80 degrees or higher.

• Make sure your pool pump is off.

• If your power is interrupted, avoid opening the refrigerator or freezer. Most will keep food cool for a substantial amount of time.

We will post the color of the day each day on www.sgcity.org, and you as a St. George resident can take it from there! Let’s work together to keep the power flowing this summer and save money on your bill.

Mayor Michele Randall, Mayor, City of St. George, UT