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September 19, 2000 To: Campus Community From: Jim Dunne, Associate Director, Physical Plant Re: Request for energy-use curtailment UCSC faculty, staff, and students are asked to conserve electricity today and over the next few days, as severe heat in California and neighboring states has pushed demand for power to emergency levels. The California Independent System Operator, which manages the state's power grid, declared a "stage two" electrical emergency yesterday, as power reserves in the state fell below 5 percent. If reserves fall below 1.5 percent, "rolling blackouts" will be instituted, in which power is cut off to groups of users for an hour each time. In the meantime, Governor Gray Davis has issued an energy curtailment request for all state facilities, such as our campus. Faculty and staff can do a number of things to help reduce the campus's energy consumption. The following are energy-conservation tips from Pacific Gas and Electric: Turn off PCs, monitors, printers, copiers, and lights when they're not in use and every night and weekend. If you can't turn off the whole computer, turn off the monitor and the printer. Close shades or blinds during early morning and late evening to reduce solar insulation heat gain. Set thermostats at 78 degrees Fahrenheit for air conditioning and 68 degrees Fahrenheit for heating. When possible, use laptop computers--they consume 90 percent less energy than standard desktop computers. When possible, use ink-jet printers--they consume 90 percent less energy than laser printers. In addition, faculty and staff can help by: switching off unnecessary lighting in their offices. turning off any personal electronic devices, such as coffee pots or hot plates, when they're not in use. For more information about the energy crisis and how it affects UCSC, go to Currents online.
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