As temperatures climb and air conditioners run full blast, concerns are growing about high demand on New York\u2019s electric grid, prompting state and utility leaders to urge residents to conserve power.<\/p>\n
The New York Independent System Operator said the heat is putting strain on the grid and suggested conserving electricity, if safe to do so, by raising air-conditioning thermostats and postponing unnecessary use of major appliances until demand on the electric system eases.<\/p>\n
Gov. Kathy Hochul is recommending New Yorkers keep their air conditioners between 75 and 78 degrees.<\/p>\n
Patrick Stella of National Grid said 78 degrees is a good target for people who can manage it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s that 78 degrees is a really nice place to keep it if you can,\u201d Stella said. \u201cBut, you know, any degree that you can turn it up just a little bit, even by one degree, you can save a couple of percentage, a couple of percent on your bill that month. So, you know, one degree even helps a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Schenectady and Niskayuna, people out at ice cream stands and splash pads said they were finding ways to cope with the heat, even as some described the conditions as extreme.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the heat, honestly,\u201d one person said. \u201cI would rather have this than snow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elliott Chismark of Voorheesville said, \u201cI don\u2019t mind the heat normally, but a hundred is pretty excessive, so that\u2019s kind of rough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moriah Cearley of Ballston Spa said she plans to adjust based on how hot it feels. \u201cStaying inside if it\u2019s too hot or I can go swimming,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have a creek nearby so that\u2019s been my usual plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Imare Moore of Niskayuna said, \u201cI\u2019m not really holding up honestly,\u201d adding, \u201cEating ice cream and a lot of fruit.\u201d<\/p>\n
But when asked about setting home thermostats to 78 degrees, several residents said they would not.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s insane, that\u2019s impossible,\u201d Moore said. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, but no.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica Lamalfaso of Scotia agreed. \u201cI don\u2019t, no,\u201d she said. \u201cWe don\u2019t do 78. Maybe like 70.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lamalfaso said her household uses blackout curtains to help keep heat out. \u201cAnd we have blackout curtains, so that helps a lot, keep a lot of the heat out, but, which I recommend for all houses, blackout curtains,\u201d she said. \u201cBut we keep ours at about 70.\u201d<\/p>\n
National Grid said even raising the thermostat by a single degree can help customers save money and reduce strain on the energy grid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As temperatures climb and air conditioners run full blast, concerns are growing about high demand on New York\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":285541,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-285540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285540\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}