Utilitiy commissioners urge customers to conserve energy as costs soar

West Memphis among many communities getting sticker shock from electric bills

news@theeveningtimes.com The West Memphis Utility Department still boasts the second-lowest energy rates in the state, but commissioners urged customers to prepare to conserve energy use before the summer air conditioning season.

Natural gas rates had soared, and Utilities General Manager Todd Pederson said natural gas supplies used to generate electricity at power plants had risen four-fold in the last two years. He expected an upward trend in electric generation rates as the thermometers rise for the summer months. The utility board heard the forecast and urged city electric customers to conserve to avoid high electric bills this summer.

Pedersen produced natural gas prices coming from the Henry Hub in south Louisiana. The pipeline hub sells natural gas on a supply and demand basis.

Half the electricity generated in the United States was made from natural gas. The general manager said the current costs were the second highest he’d seen in his career almost matching the peak in 2008.

“I have fuel adjustment projections for next month,” said Pedersen.

“April 2020 Natural gas prices averaged $1.74, April 2021 $2.26, April 2022 $6.60. You’re talking a 400 percent since 2020.”

The coal fired plants West Memphis Utilities owned a share of failed to produce enough electricity because of supply chain issues. The Union Pacific railroad was hauling fewer coal trains from the west to the power plants in Arkansas.

“They lost a lot of people during the pandemic and have not recovered,” said Pedersen. “We are stockpiling coal on the ground right now so when the summer heat loads do pickup, we can actually run them reliably. What that means in our rates we include fuel costs if it cast more than three cents the fuel adjustment kicks in,

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Photo courtesy of WMUD UTILITIES (cont.)

and it costs our customers more money.”

Pedersen projected the fuel adjustment cost above those built into the rate would amount to $1.2 million dollars spread across city customers for the month of May this year.

Record heat in early May heat swept through the region last week and residential cooling units were put to the early season test. Members of the utility board echoed commissioner Shirley Patton Brown calling for customers to prepare to conserve energy to reduce consumption and offset high bills this summer.

“If this is going to happen, we need to communicate the message,” said Brown, “We need to make the public aware and ask them to conserve energy.”

Brown suggested avoiding lower thermostat settings and going outside or opening windows in the cooler parts of the day.

“They will do a lot better with their bills if they conserve,” said commissioner Al Felton.

The thermostat setting is the first step in conserving air conditioning costs by setting it at the upper convenient temperature for the summertime. Use thermostat timers to cool down the house when occupied and allow indoor temps to rise some while away at work.

This runs the a/c unit fewer times during the day saving energy.

Other tips included shading the outside air-conditioning unit. Weatherizing: sealing openings around doors and windows stops both, hot non-conditioned air from leaking in, and prevents the air unit from overrunning.

Keep vents and doors closed in unused rooms.

Consumers may lower their bills by turning off devises while not in use like the PC, TV, and lights. Energy saving lightbulbs also put out less heat than standard bulbs. Choose high efficiency rated appliances and air-conditioning units when a replacement is needed.

More strategies to conserve energy consumption included replacing air filters frequently, using the microwave instead of the oven, and dressing appropriately for the outside weather while inside your house.

Faced with the possibility of record-breaking summer cooling bills; forewarned was forearmed to fight rising energy costs according to Brown.

“Customers need to know the cost of energy is rising and take responsibility,” said Brown.