Arctic Blast Breaks Puget Sound Electric and Natural Gas Usage Records

With this week’s lingering cold spell, Puget Sound Energy has broken records in delivering electricity and natural gas to homes and businesses in Western Washington. With temperatures forecast to remain colder than usual for several more days, PSE is encouraging customers to use energy wisely, particularly during peak energy periods, to manage their winter heating bills and to protect the energy delivery system.

Monday evening (Dec. 15) at 7 p.m., PSE set a new hourly electric system peak of 4,906 megawatts (MW). This breaks the historical peak load of 4,847 MW, set Dec. 21, 1998.

Also on Monday, PSE set a record natural gas send-out of 755, 881 MMBtu (million British thermal units). This surpassed the historic record of 741,881 MMBtu set Nov. 28, 2006, and is well above the average daily December natural gas send-out of 500,000 MMBtu.

PSE’s power and natural gas supplies are adequate to meet PSE customers’ needs in its 11-county service area. However, with this extended cold spell, PSE is encouraging customers to use energy wisely to manage their winter electric and natural gas bills and to protect the energy delivery system, particularly during the peak periods of customer use from 6:30 to 9 a.m. and from 4 to 7:30 p.m.

"In these tough economic times we are mindful that our customers are going to face high bills this winter,” said Bert Valdman, executive vice president and chief operating officer. "While both our electric and natural gas systems are performing well, as the cold spell continues we want to protect the system and our customers. We encourage customers to keep their homes and businesses at the lowest comfortable temperature, and to turn off unnecessary lights, computers and appliances, especially during peak periods of energy use in the morning, late afternoon and early evening.”

PSE recommends these energy-saving tips to manage their heating bills:

• Lower the thermostat at bedtime or while gone during the day. Setting the thermostat to 58 degrees during sleep hours can decrease a natural gas bill by up to 7 percent.
• Seal air leaks around drafty windows and doors.

• Check furnace filters monthly and clean or replace them when necessary.
• Keep heating outlets and return registers clear of furniture or other objects.
• Keep fireplace dampers and glass doors closed when a fireplace is not in use.

PSE also encourages customers to follow these safety tips:

• Do not use charcoal or a gas grill to cook indoors. Both can cause a build up of dangerous carbon monoxide gas.
• Create a storm kit equipped with a three-day supply of bottled water and non-perishable food, can opener, flashlights, extra batteries, and a battery-powered radio to keep track of weather developments.
• Turn off lights and unplug appliances and sensitive electronic equipment, such as computers, to prevent an overload on electric circuits.

PSE customers having trouble paying their utility bill are urged to call the utility at 1-888-225-5773 to make payment arrangements. They also may be able to get help from PSE’s Home Energy Lifeline Program, or HELP. With a $4.8 million boost in funding, HELP will provide nearly $14.7 million over the coming year to help low-income households served by PSE pay their natural gas and electricity bills.

Customers can also call PSE or visit the company’s Web site at www.pse.com for energy-saving tips or to get more information about bill assistance. The federal government’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, also provides energy relief to eligible low-income households. Both HELP and LIHEAP are administered by local community-service centers. PSE customers can obtain the phone number and address of their nearest center, toll-free, at 1-866-223-5425.

About Puget Sound Energy

Washington state’s oldest and largest energy utility, with a 6,000-square-mile service area stretching across 11 counties, Puget Sound Energy serves more than 1 million electric customers and nearly 750,000 natural gas customers. PSE, a subsidiary of Puget Energy (NYSE:PSD), meets the energy needs of its growing customer base primarily in Western Washington through incremental, cost-effective energy conservation, procurement of sustainable energy resources, and far-sighted investment in the energy-delivery infrastructure. PSE employees are dedicated to providing great customer service to deliver energy that is safe, reliable, reasonably priced, and environmentally responsible. For more information, visit www.PSE.com.