Your PUD News Release

New power-use peak; customers asked to conserve

Chelan County PUD
News Release
12/20/2008

Power use by Chelan County PUD customers for the hour ending at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2008, was a new peak of 442 megawatts with a temperature of minus 4 degrees (F) at Pangborn Memorial Airport.

Electric energy use by Chelan PUD customers this morning topped the record peak of 441 megawatts for the hour ending at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 16 with a temperature of 2 degrees (F) at Pangborn Memorial Airport. The previous record of 440 megawatts at 7 degrees (F) was reached on Jan. 23, 2008.

PUD crews are responding to reports of two power outages this morning both related to high power demand as the cold snap continues. There was a brief outage for an undetermined number of  customers on Burch Mountain Road north of Wenatchee from about 7:10 to 7:30 a.m. Saturday. A fuse failed at the nearby Sunnyslope Substation and was replaced. Power blinked on and off again, but services is now restored.

Electric service is also out to PUD customers living in McNeil Canyon, on the east side of the Columbia River ,above Beebe Bridge. Chelan County PUD provides electric service to those customers living in Douglas County.

PUD customers are asked to ease back on power use across the county this weekend because of the extreme continuing cold and forecasts for more snow and possible high winds. Please turn off holiday lights and avoid using the dishwasher or doing laundry from 6-10 a.m.

For information during a power outage call the PUD’s 24-hour information line at 1-877-783-8123. More information about winter energy conservation and tips on keeping your home cozy is available on the PUD Web site at www.chelanpud.org. Follow the links in the “Cold Weather Alert” box on the home page.

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Kimberlee Craig
Public information Officer
(509) 661-4320, office
(509) 679-6858, mobile