91视频

Portland General Electric last week announced a program for business customers that will automatically reduce a facility’s energy use during peak times 鈥� mainly during extremely hot or cold days.

The new program, , will be managed by Georgia-based RTP Controls and is designed to both lower energy costs for customers and help PGE meet resource needs during peak times.

鈥淩ather than build a power plant, we decided to partner with our customers to reduce energy use,鈥� said PGE spokeswoman Elaina Medina.

Businesses will be compensated for enrolling in the three-year program, and then they will receive additional payments when they are called upon to participate in energy reductions, which would take place a few times every year.

When grid demand is particularly high, RTP’s GridLogic System will dim the lighting, cycle air conditioning on and off, or initiate other measures to reduce energy consumption for up to four hours at participating sites. The system provides 10-minute notice to people in the building, which could be a department store, manufacturing plant or any other commercial facility.

RTP will be working to sign up customers throughout the summer. Businesses that are part of national chains are expected to be among the first to sign up because they may have other locations already enrolled in similar programs in other parts of the country. PGE expects the program to reduce energy demand by up to 50 megawatts over the next three years.