Recent unfortunate events experienced by AEP customers show how global warming, which produces destructive storms and heat waves, created conditions for widespread power losses.
Continued reliance on fossil fuels escalates these impacts.
More:Letters: Put the heat on AEP and PUCO for power outages. Investigate and fine them.
Solutions that reduce demand on the system and save customers money are available and they don’t have to include AEP’s draconian shutoffs to homes and businesses.
These solutions have existed for years. The failure of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to require and for AEP to implement them is irresponsible. These options include:
More:Letters: Extreme weather will continue to cause problems. Climate change is the culprit.
That would end the customer subsidy of two uneconomic coal plants and restore the energy efficiency requirements that were discarded to finance the coal plant subsidies. Overall stress on the system is reduced when customers use less energy.
This plain common-sense fact has eluded the legislature for too long.
More:Ohio’s House Bill 6 corruption case: ‘It’s all systems go,’ former federal prosecutor says
Energy efficiency is the least cost solution, cheaper than any power plant. Why would we not do it?
It reduces system costs for the utility and saves customers money on their bills. If energy efficiency programs had not been terminated by the legislature, the system demand would have been less and fewer, if any, customers may have been shutoff.
More:Thomas Suddes: Ohio lawmakers’ fail to fix bloated bureaucracy, health care laws, utility shenanigans
2 Get to the bottom of it
PUCO should convene a real investigation geared towards solutions.
Calling in AEP and PJM Interconnection to explain is inadequate.
Call in the state and national experts on Demand Response Programs to…
Read complete post here:
Source link
Wanda Beck
View More PostsWanda Beck is a technology reporter who covers the intersection of business and crypto. A native of Boston, Wanda spent almost five years at The Boston25News, where she wrote extensively about the media industry's struggle to adapt to the Internet.
