Residents in far Northeast Albuquerque may be asked to cut back on electricity use during the late afternoon and evening as extreme heat continues to increase demand on the power grid.PNM said customers in the area should be prepared to conserve energy between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m., when electricity use is typically at its highest. The company said it will contact those customers directly.The utility warns that if demand exceeds what the local electrical equipment can safely handle, power outages could occur.”There’s a couple of steps that we take on the PNM side before we even ask customers to conserve energy,” PNM Spokesperson Eric Chavez told KOAT on Thursday.PNM is actively monitoring its equipment in Albuquerque to identify areas with the highest energy load, citing the city’s northeast heights as a particular concern. “As of this time, we’re not planning to turn the power off. But again, there are risks of outages being caused by equipment failure if that equipment was to be overloaded,” Chavez said.To help reduce the strain on the system, PNM recommends setting air conditioning thermostats a few degrees higher, delaying the use of major appliances such as dishwashers and dryers, and turning off unnecessary lights during peak hours.According to the utility, the request is tied to long-standing capacity issues in far Northeast Albuquerque. One proposed solution is building a new substation in the area, but the plan has faced opposition from some residents. In May, Bernalillo County commissioners unanimously denied PNM’s application for the proposed location. “We agree that the substation needs to be built. There’s no argument there. We just do not agree with the location,” said Kindred Murillo, with the Sandia Heights Homeowners Association.Despite heated community meetings on the topic, Murillo said an email was sent to the community’s 2,000 households on Thursday encouraging residents to conserve power during the current heat wave.Customers are encouraged to prepare for the possibility of outages as hot weather continue.
Residents in far Northeast Albuquerque may be asked to cut back on electricity use during the late afternoon and evening as extreme heat continues to increase demand on the power grid.
PNM said customers in the area should be prepared to conserve energy between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m., when electricity use is typically at its highest. The company said it will contact those customers directly.
The utility warns that if demand exceeds what the local electrical equipment can safely handle, power outages could occur.
“There’s a couple of steps that we take on the PNM side before we even ask customers to conserve energy,” PNM Spokesperson Eric Chavez told KOAT on Thursday.
PNM is actively monitoring its equipment in Albuquerque to identify areas with the highest energy load, citing the city’s northeast heights as a particular concern.
“As of this time, we’re not planning to turn the power off. But again, there are risks of outages being caused by equipment failure if that equipment was to be overloaded,” Chavez said.
To help reduce the strain on the system, PNM recommends setting air conditioning thermostats a few degrees higher, delaying the use of major appliances such as dishwashers and dryers, and turning off unnecessary lights during peak hours.
According to the utility, the request is tied to long-standing capacity issues in far Northeast Albuquerque.
One proposed solution is building a new substation in the area, but the plan has faced opposition from some residents. In May, Bernalillo County commissioners unanimously denied PNM’s application for the proposed location.
“We agree that the substation needs to be built. There’s no argument there. We just do not agree with the location,” said Kindred Murillo, with the Sandia Heights Homeowners Association.
Despite heated community meetings on the topic, Murillo said an email was sent to the community’s 2,000 households on Thursday encouraging residents to conserve power during the current heat wave.
Customers are encouraged to prepare for the possibility of outages as hot weather continue.
