SAVING WATTS

Short of a crisis, energy conservation is a tough sell. Remember how President Jimmy Carter was mocked for wearing a sweater and telling Americans to turn down the thermostat? This winter a crisis could be brewing and energy conservation must be part of the solution.

For the second time in two months, regulators and the managers of the New England power grid have warned of possible electricity shortages if temperatures plummet this winter. The problem is that demand for natural gas, which fuels about 40 percent of the region’s electricity generation, continues to climb while Hurricanes Katrina and Rita damaged gas production and distribution systems. As a result, there may not be enough gas to produce enough electricity to meet what is predicted to be record-setting winter demand.

Many businesses have already signed up for a voluntary program to restrict their electricity use if the grid operator, ISO New England, asks them to. The companies are paid to stop taking electricity from the grid when electricity is in extremely short supply. So far, Maine companies that use 51 megawatts of power daily have signed up. This represents about 25 percent of participants in the program so far, although Maine represents just 8 percent of ISO New England’s consumption.

Utilities have also taken steps to address the problem. Those that can are prepared to burn oil instead of natural gas if supplies are limited. While this may help avert blackouts, burning oil causes more pollution and it will increase demand for heating oil, further increasing the cost of heating homes.

A better option is for residential consumers to use less electricity. California, which already has the lowest per-capita electricity usage in the country, has held its electricity demand constant for 10 years despite population growth by promoting conservation. While there has been much talk lately of energy conservation in Maine, the state has a long way to go. Spending on conservation initiatives is less than 1 percent of electric utility revenues, the lowest in New England.

Earlier this month, Gov. Baldacci launched a challenge aimed at getting households and small businesses to reduce their electric usage by 10 percent. Those who do this will be entered in a contest to receive $1,000 rebates on the purchase of energy efficient appliances carrying the “Energy Star” label.

There are lots of simple ways to reach the 10 percent goal, such as switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs and turning off electronics that aren’t in use.

Conservation is especially important during the hours when electricity demand is highest, which is between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. When electricity supply is tight, consumers will be warned to delay energy-intense activities, such as running washing machines and dishwashers, until after 8 p.m.

The last option if demand still exceeds supply is for ISO New England to initiate rolling blackouts where electricity would not be available in a region for specific periods of time, typically a few hours.

At a press conference this week, regulators and grid officials stressed that blackouts would only occur in “dire circumstances.” To avoid such circumstances, changing habits to conserve energy now makes sense.