May 23 2008

Juneau Unplugs After Alaska Avalanche Topples Power Grid

NPR caught my ear this morning with an interview with reporter Kate Golden at The Juneau Empire in Alaska's capital. Juneau residents and the city have launched an aggressive effort to save energy in the wake of an avalanche in April that toppled the transmission grid linking the city to a hydroelectric dam 40 miles away.

audio_icon.jpg | Listen Now | 4min 30sec | NPR, Morning Edition |

Diesel generators are running to keep the lights on but energy bills will soar on higher fuel costs while repairs are made over an expected three months. So the people of Juneau responded quickly to an urgent financial signal and discovered conservation in a big way:  there was a run on clothespins to hang out the wash to dry, energy-efficient light bulbs sold out, stores and offices dimmed the lights, TVs went dark, and families dined by candlelight. The result: electrical usage plummeted as much as 30 percent within a week of the avalanche.

"Turn off, turn down, unplug," said Sarah Lewis, chairwoman of the Juneau Commission on Sustainability. "That's what everyone is doing and being vigilant about and commenting when others are not."

The city of Juneau is helping low-income residents with energy costs and the governor has declared an "economic injury" which could bring in funds from the federal Small Business Administration. And the repairs may go faster than expected: reporter Golden told NPR the first transmission tower was likely to go up this afternoon.

Posted by: Leonard Anderson | Comments (0) digg delicioussend to a friendprint entry

 

Categories

Community , Efficiency , Energy , Hydroelectric , Sustainable , Transmission

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  • This is being rather generous to Lutz. 1. The "Volt", in no small part, will be targeted as a product to people who care about energy and environmental issues. These people don't embrace Lutz' antideluvian concepts of rejecting science. How responsible is it for a GM executive to be rejecting the science? 2. As well, Lutz didn't exactly sound too enthusiastic about the Volt itself. 3. And, GM public communications has 'defended' Lutz in rather absurd ways. -A Siegel
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