PORT ANGELES — Clallam County Public Utility District has doubled its energy conservation in recent years — and will double those savings again in the next two years, a PUD representative said Monday.
Mattias Jarvegren, PUD utility services adviser, told the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce weekly luncheon that the public utility is beginning to implement state Initiative 937, which voters approved by 52 percent in 2006.
“The portion of that act that most people are familiar with is the renewable requirements,” Jarvegren said.
Utilities that serve more than 25,000 customers, including Clallam PUD, are required to get 3 percent of their power from renewable sources by next year.
That requirement goes up to 9 percent in 2016 and 15 percent by 2020.
Renewable includes wind and solar power but not hydropower.
Clallam PUD gets most of its electricity from the Bonneville Power Administration and its the dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers.
Many industry officials say hydropower should be considered renewable.
“The fuel literally comes raining out of the sky,” Jarvegren said.
“We would like to be able to provide electricity to our customers from the dams.”
In August, the three local PUD commissioners signed a letter supporting pending legislation to eliminate the requirement for utilities to buy unneeded renewable energy.
“Hydropower is really the cheapest, most environmentally friendly way for us to generate electricity,” Jarvegren told about 60 chamber members and guests at Monday’s luncheon at the Port Angeles Red Lion Hotel.
Through a variety of conservation programs, the PUD has saved between 1 million and 2 million kilowatt hours per year.
“As a part of the Energy Independence Act, for the past three years we’ve had to double that energy savings,” Jarvegren said.
“We’ve already hit our conservation targets for the current two-year period that ends.
“We’re now in the middle of setting conservation targets that we have for the following two years to come up with a 10-year potential.
“Preliminary analysis we’ve done for those targets indicates that we may have to double our energy conservation again.
“Conservation might continue to be a very big focus of what we do.”
Clallam PUD officials will discuss a range of options for renewable energy and conservation targets in a work session at 10 a.m. today.
“We’re going to be subject to some fairly steep fines if we don’t hit conservation targets that we set,” Jarvegren said.
Beyond the environmental benefits, Jarvegren said conservation is the “cheapest way for us to be able to meet the electrical growth needs that we have in our service territory.”
Jarvegren spend most of his half-hour chamber presentation providing tips for businesses to manage their energy costs.
He said it makes sense to douse the lights when possible and to use energy-efficient bulbs.
It is important for business owners to work with their staffs to establish a suitable room temperature and keep the thermostat at that temperature, Jarvegren said.
He added that it’s a good idea to install a heat pump and change the filter every month, and to opt for a smaller hot-water tank when it’s time for a change.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
