Current | LES Customer Newsletter Current - October 2019 | Page 2

LES Peak Rewards reducing
peak demand for customers
In June 2018, LES
began accepting its
first enrollments for
the newly established
LES Peak Rewards
program. The concept
behind Peak Rewards
is simple: Partner with
the community to better
regulate the electric
system’s peak load. brief, limited thermostat
adjustments during peak
electric demand periods
on non holiday weekdays
during LES’ summer
rates period, June 1
through Sept. 30. Peak
demand periods typically
occur on hot, humid days
when electricity is at its
highest demand.
LES designed this
voluntary energy demand
response program to
reward customers with
monetary incentives
for reducing electricity
use during periods of
high demand, helping
the community at large
manage energy more
efficiently. Customers
with qualifying, internet-
connected thermostats
controlling their central
air conditioning system
are eligible to participate. “Every morning, we
assess the historic
usage trends alongside
a 15-day forecast to
decide if calling an event
that day is necessary to
minimize our monthly
peak demand.” said
Lee Anderson, manager,
System Energy
Maintenance.
To date, roughly 1,600
total customers with
nearly 1,700 individual
thermostats are
enrolled in the program.
Participants agree to
When an event occurs,
the thermostat is first
cooled 3 degrees, to
ensure comfort. Then,
following pre-cooling,
the thermostat is
automatically adjusted
up to 4 degrees above
its set temperature to
reduce the system’s
electricity demand. Once
Lincoln Children’s
powered by
the event is over, the
thermostat returns to
normal operation.
Over the course of
10 events in 2018
and 10 events thus
far in 2019, LES Peak
Rewards participants
have helped LES
reduce peak summer
demand by more
than two megawatts.
“Two megawatts is
the equivalent power
demand of four big box
retail stores,” said Marc
Shkolnick, manager,
Energy Services. “By
having the ability to
reduce peak demand
with the help of these
customers, LES can
further defer the need to
add another generating
source to its portfolio.”
For more information
about the LES Peak
Rewards program or
to enroll your smart
thermostat, go to
LESPeakRewards.com.
Public Power Week: What’s so great
about public power?
Nebraska has had a tradition of public power for roughly 100 years and is the only
100% public power state in the nation. Why? Because Nebraskans understand
that public power is customer-owned. It means reliability, affordability and
community control. Since public power is not-for-profit, utilities across our state
are able to pass on savings to all of us instead of sending them on to out-of-state
investors.
A new event in Lincoln
for the holiday season
This November through December
the Lincoln Children’s Zoo will
be transformed into one of the
largest light shows in the Midwest,
displaying over 250,000 lights. This
new experience will include a 34-foot
Christmas tree, over 30 lit animal
silhouettes, 1 mile of path lights, hot
cocoa, train rides, a light tunnel and a
40-foot lit tree that dances to music.
Go to LIncolnZoo.org to learn more, or
follow LES on social media!
In LES’ service area, the public power tradition continues to pay off with the
community utility proposing no rate increase for the third year in a row.
Help us celebrate our community’s tradition of public power during Public Power
Week, Oct. 6-12, on social media. Let people know you support public power with
the hashtags #PublicPowerWeek or #PoweringTheGoodLife and follow us on
Facebook or Twitter for updates on activities throughout the week. LES currently
employs over 500 people from our community – your neighbors, friends and even
family members. We are local people serving local people.
Stay plugged-in with LES
Subscribe to our LES newsletter
to empower yourself with useful
information and current news at your
public power utility by going to
LES.com/newsletters.