In an effort to curb the impact of rising peak period electricity costs in New England, New Hampshire Electric Cooperative (NHEC) is offering its members new incentives to reduce their power consumption when demand for electricity is highest.

Peak demand events occur infrequently, usually during especially hot or cold weather, but they have a disproportionate impact on electric rates. NHEC must pay “capacity cost” to generation and transmission providers for the capacity to deliver peak amounts of electricity, even though that quantity is only needed for approximately 150 hours per year.

If NHEC can reduce the amount of power its members need during peak demand periods, it can reduce rates year-round. Three “Go Beyond the Peak!” programs reward members for curbing their usage during peak demand periods. The programs are:

• Peak Plus, where a member has a load control device installed on selected appliances like electric water heaters, central air conditioning units, window air conditioners, or electric heat. The member gets an incentive for allowing NHEC to control usage of each appliance with a load control device during peak demand periods.
• Peak Planner, where a member switches to an on-peak/off-peak rate plan with occasional critical peak rates during the highest demand periods.
• Peak Days, where a member enrolls to have alerts sent via text and e-mail notifying them of upcoming peak demand periods so they can voluntarily reduce electric consumption.

Members with net-metered solar photovoltaic systems can participate in Peak Plus and Peak Days, but not Peak Planner.

The ultimate goal of “Go Beyond the Peak!” is to reduce electric rates for all members by reducing peak demands. Complete program information and enrollment are available at GoBeyondThePeak.com.

NHEC is a member-owned electric distribution cooperative serving 83,000 homes and businesses in 115 New Hampshire communities, including Andover.