NSTAR Success During Heat Wave Receives National Attention
In August, NSTAR was featured on ABC Nightline News as a
number of cities nationwide were facing record-braking
heat waves. NSTAR was recognized for maintaining its
electric system for customers during these extreme
temperatures, as some utilities in other regions
experienced outages and other system problems. Here is a
transcript of the story.
Martin Bashir (ABC News): From Maine to Oklahoma
today, the country was sweltering under an oppressive
and dangerous heat wave. The weather has led to great
discomfort, inconvenience and deaths from heat stroke.
It's also put the power grid under enormous pressure.
"Nightline’s" Vicki Mabrey is live outside in Times
Square, tonight. Vicki?
Vicki Mabrey (ABC News): Martin, only in New York
would this be considered energy conservation. A big,
bright sign, explaining that their even bigger, brighter
sign, is turned off. Still, the utility companies ask us
all to do our part to conserve. And what better place to
start than right here in Times Square?
Vicki Mabrey (ABC News): Yes, it's hot. So hot
that even the city that never sleeps took a temporary
breather, dimming some of the lights in Times Square,
including the stock market ticker, the NASDAQ billboard
and ABC studios. Even the Empire State Building went
dark, saving that precious power for air conditioning.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg: If we want to keep the
power going, we're all just going to have to conserve.
Vicki Mabrey (ABC News): Of course, the heat
didn’t just hit Manhattan, where it was 102. Cities all
over the East Coast neared record highs. Ninety-eight
degrees in Philadelphia. So hot, they gave out free
fans. Ninety-eight degrees in New Hampshire.
New Hampshire Resident: Making everybody sweaty.
Vicki Mabrey (ABC News): And 99 in the nation's
capital.
Washington DC Resident: Do you ever see those
machines where they put the peanuts in them, and then,
they roast the peanuts? That's what it feel (sic) like.
I feel like I’m a roasted peanut out here.
Vicki Mabrey (ABC News): Earlier today, we headed
to Boston, where the intense heat meant swan boats in
Boston Common were docked. But it was a busy day at
NSTAR, which supplies the power to more than a million
homes and businesses in Eastern Massachusetts.
Tom May, NSTAR CEO: I was worrying when I went to
bed last night. We've had a couple of rough days.
Vicki Mabrey (ABC News): But all was calm today
at NSTAR's control room, as CEO Tom May huddled with his
engineers, watching them monitor the city's energy
consumption.
Vicki Mabrey (ABC News): What's the graph here?
Tom May, NSTAR CEO: We are - we're watching what
all of our customers are doing right now. And what
they've been doing since first thing this morning when
they got up, turned on their TVs. Turned on their coffee
pots. We're watching this load build as their demand for
energy grows each and every hour.
Vicki Mabrey (ABC News): That demand is reflected
on the power grid, a wall showing every substation in
every neighborhood. NSTAR teams are watching, trying to
catch an outage before it happens, shifting energy to
where need is greatest.
John Conlon, NSTAR Supervisor: My hope, I guess,
is just to say that when I get through the day, everyone
has their lights on.
Vicki Mabrey (ABC News): One factor stressing the
power supply, so-called vampire appliances that suck
power without us even being aware. NSTAR says demand
used to set a record every couple of years. Now, it's
every couple of months.
NSTAR Employee: That computer, even though you
walk away from that computer and your screen goes dark,
it's just going to sleep.
Vicki Mabrey (ABC News): So, the clock that's on,
on the microwave, that's using power, even though I got
nothing in there?
Tom May, NSTAR CEO: That's using power.
Vicki Mabrey (ABC News): In a tape-recorded
message, NSTAR asked all of its customers to heed that
advice and conserve.
Excerpt from NSTAR Recorded Message: “Close
blinds during the hottest part of the day…”
Vicki Mabrey (ABC News): And so far, it’s
working. Actual demand today was lower than their
estimates. And most of Boston seemed to be staying cool,
both inside and out.
Vicki Mabrey (ABC News): You know, it used to be
that we could count on cooling down comfortably at
night, but not these days. And scientists say that that
is a major cause of heat-related deaths. That our
overheated bodies are not getting enough cooling at
night to recover. Still, Martin, I think we have to put
this into perspective. The troops in Iraq are facing
temperatures of 117 degrees later this week. Martin?
Martin Bashir (ABC News): Vicki Mabrey, thank
you. And the sweltering heat wave here expected to last
until this time tomorrow night.
