A reduction in the New England power surplus has the region's energy suppliers concerned that an upcoming heat wave could result in reduced electrical power, and College officials are preparing for the worst.
Facilities, Operations and Management sent an e-mail message to all academic departments yesterday warning of such a possible eventuality.
This message warned of a possible heat wave this week, and asked everyone to "reduce their use of electricity."
The message recommended people turn off their computers when not using them and turn off lighting in offices whenever possible.
"We have a situation in New England where we could be impacted if we get a long-term heat spell," Assistant Director of Engineering and Utilities Stephen Mischissin said. "If New England faces peak summer conditions, [such as] heavy air conditioner use, those peak loads may not be met."
Mischissin said the situation is "an unusual circumstance."
Granite State Electric Account Representative James Hurst said five nuclear power plants in the New England region were shut down in the spring by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Various safety issues necessitated the shutdown, Mischissin said. There is currently an NRC investigation pending.
"They are taking away a large amount of electrical capacity," Mischissin said. "If electrical peaks as in previous years come up, we may not have enough power to supply it all."
The reduction in the power surplus has been something closely watched by the New England Power Pool the entire summer.
"It will be down the entire summer so the entire New England community has been holding its breath hoping for no hot weather," Hurst said. "So far, we have been lucky."
Hurst said he told the College that if a stretch of warm weather was imminent, actions may have to be taken to reduce the system wide load on the power generators.
Currently, the power supply is unaffected, Hurst said. The only difference is in the surplus available to handle peak loads. Such peak loads come on hot days from energy consumers like air conditioners.
If New England reaches a point where the surplus energy is starting to run out, several actions may be taken, from purchasing power outside the region to requesting industrial customers to use their own generation units.
Power purchases are almost instantaneous and are very effective in alleviating excess power demands, Hurst said.
Hurst said the most extreme steps that could be taken would be voltage reductions, called brownouts, or rotating blackouts.
"These are even further steps," Hurst said. "These are not likely, but are a possibility under any circumstances. When you have hot weather, you are stretching resources further."
This problem is more serious than in previous years because of the missing generators, Hurst said.
"We are concerned in the sense of being aware but not concerned in the sense of being worried," Hurst said. "People at the New England Power Pool are watching the loads very closely but projections at this time do not look too bad."
"In all likelihood, we won't get beyond power purchases from other areas," Hurst said.