For Immediate Release: October 3, 2006

 

   SMUD thanks summer Peak Corps and VECP volunteers
 
 
Now that the hot summer days have given way to fall, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District 
(SMUD) thanks the more than 100,000 Peak Corps partners who were ready to help the community in
case of a power emergency this summer. Though the Peak Corps program was not needed this year, the
volunteers helped to ensure that SMUD was equipped and ready to respond to a power emergency.
SMUD is grateful for their willingness to assist the utility and other customers.

Peak Corps is a voluntary program designed to help SMUD maintain electrical system stability
by reducing the energy demand or “load” on the hottest summer days between June 1 and September 30.
In exchange for a monthly credit on their SMUD bills, program volunteers allow SMUD to install a
cycling device and send a radio signal to switch-off (or cycle) their central air conditioners.
 
Over 100 commercial customers were also ready to help in an emergency. Volunteers
participating in the Voluntary Emergency Curtailment Program (VECP) also deserve thanks and
recognition for their willingness to assist in reducing the demand for electricity when supplies grow tight
over the summer months.
If an electrical emergency had come up, VECP volunteers would reduce their electrical use by a
pre-determined amount. Often times, this can be non-essential uses that allow businesses to continue to
operate with reduced lighting, air conditioning, or other uses of electricity.

For more information about Peak Corps or VECP see www.smud.org.
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