Elk City, OK – Northfork Electric Cooperative General Manager Brent Meador says the region continues to have adequate electricity to meet demand during the summer heat, but when customers use power could become increasingly important in the years ahead.

Meador said the Southwest Power Pool, which manages the electric grid across a 14-state region that includes Oklahoma, has issued advisories during periods of high demand. So far, those advisories have remained at lower levels and have not required urgent conservation measures.

“They’ve given some advisories along the way here that, ‘Hey, we may have to ask everybody to conserve,’ but they’ve been low-level advisories so far, even through these hot days,” Meador said.

That could change quickly if the grid unexpectedly loses a major source of generation, he said.

While customers are not currently being required to reduce electricity use, Meador said small changes during the hottest part of the day can make a significant difference when multiplied across thousands of homes and businesses.

“You’re also not required to shut your blinds and turn your thermostat up to 75 in the afternoon,” Meador said. “But I will tell you that those little changes that each and every person can do add up to a huge difference.”

For Northfork Electric, the issue is not simply whether enough electricity is available. Peak demand also plays a major role in determining what the cooperative pays for power.

Meador said about 70 percent of Northfork's power costs are ultimately tied to peak periods. The cooperative's rates from its power supplier are influenced by how much electricity is needed when demand reaches its highest levels.

“They have to build enough generation to get us through the peaks, not through the valleys,” Meador said. “The valleys are the easy part. They have to have enough generation to get us through the peaks.”

During the summer, those critical hours are generally between 3 and 7 p.m. On particularly cold winter mornings, the peak can occur between 6 and 10 a.m.

Meador said electricity during those periods has always been more expensive, but the difference between peak and off-peak costs is growing.

“Those time frames are getting more and more expensive all the time,” he said. “They’ve always been more expensive, but it was a small percentage.”

As that gap grows, Meador believes utilities and consumers will eventually have to pay more attention to when electricity is being used.

“Eventually those times are going to be more expensive,” Meador said. “And so you have to decide, can you afford that more expensive period or are you going to cut back? That’s what’s coming. It’s just going to be different.”

That could mean shifting activities such as laundry, dishwashing and other high-energy tasks away from peak hours, particularly during extreme temperatures.

Meador believes those habits could eventually become second nature for future generations.

“I think 20 years from now it’ll be engraved in them,” Meador said. “From three to seven p.m. on the hot days, they’re going to be more conservative. It’s going to be engraved in them that we don’t use as much power from three to seven.”

For now, Meador said the power supply remains sufficient, but reducing unnecessary electricity use during peak periods can help the cooperative manage costs that ultimately affect its members.

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