OTTUMWA —
Alliant Energy does still have enough power, as they told the Courier on Monday, but “cycling” allows everyone to save some money.
So on Tuesday, with temperatures passing 100, Alliant Energy implemented its Appliance Cycling plan to decrease the amount of electricity use in Iowa.
“We will come out and install a switch [on] your air conditioner,” explained Justin Foss, spokesperson for Alliant Energy. “When it reaches a certain temperature [outside], we implement cycling, which turns off the big condenser fan for 15 minutes. Then it comes back on for 15 minutes. I should point out it’s a voluntary program.”
Foss actually has the system at his home. His electric bill is lower because the AC is used less. But the house is still fairly cool when he gets home. Since the program only switches the air on and off during the hours of 1-7 p.m., it’s not much of a burden on anyone who’s at work most of the day. It doesn’t cycle on weekends, he said, or on holidays — because people are probably home.
On the other hand, he said, his day care provider does not participate because she needs control of her unit all day long.
In addition to a somewhat lower electric bill, participants get an $8 credit applied to their electric bill throughout the summer. Of the 480,000 Iowa customers, Alliant has 49,000 Appliance Cycling Program volunteers. Any step that saves electricity can benefit all customers, he said.
“The greater the overall amount of energy we need to buy or produce, the greater the cost,” Foss said. “Energy is a commodity, and it’s very much a supply and demand product. The more demand, the more the supply costs. If we don’t have to buy more energy — at the most expensive time — we actually save customers money.”
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Voluntary program designed to decrease electricity use in Iowa
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