BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is declaring Tuesday, August 18 as a SmartDay event due to high forecasted temperatures. Customers who are in PG&E’s voluntary SmartRate pricing plan will be notified of the SmartDay events by email, phone call or both by 3 p.m. on the business day before each SmartDay event.

SmartRate residential customers are being urged to conserve electricity Tuesday between 2 and 7 p.m. Business customers are being asked to conserve between 2 and 6 p.m. In Kern County, more than 8,000 residential and business customers are enrolled in SmartRate.

The SmartRate pricing plan gives customers a slightly discounted rate over four summer months in exchange for paying a surcharge on electricity used during peak periods on a SmartDay. Proactively shifting or reducing energy usage during SmartDay peak period hours will allow many customers to save money on their summer electric bills. The SmartRate program is available to PG&E electric customers with SmartMeter™ electric meters and was first offered in Kern County last year.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation, is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation’s cleanest energy to 15 million people in northern and central California.

Tips for Shifting or Reducing Energy Usage on a SmartDay Event: • On the morning of a SmartDay event, use blinds and shades in areas exposed to the sun to keep cool air in and the sun out.
• Pre-cool your home or business and then reduce air condition usage in the afternoon by increasing the thermostat two to four degrees.
• Unplug chargers for cell phones, calculators, PDAs and other portable devices when not in use.
• Turn off the lights in any room you’re not using, or consider installing timers, photocells or occupancy sensors to reduce the amount of time your lights are on.
• Turn off exterior lights and signage not necessary for security and safety whenever possible.
• Plug your laptop into a power strip that can be turned off manually or automatically—the transformer in the AC adaptor draws power continuously, even when the laptop is not plugged into the adapter.
• Use task lighting only where you need it, instead of brightly lighting an entire room.

Information Provided by PG&E