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Michael Dunne: I’m Michael Dunne. I don’t know about you, but right now I keep both my shorts and my sweater right next to each other at home because our recent weather has been so extreme. One week it’s a heat wave, the next it feels almost as cold as fall. While it’s a bit inconvenient for our personal wardrobe choices, imagine being the region’s biggest energy company trying to anticipate power demands on the system. Today on the show, an EWEB spokesperson will join us to talk about just that, as well as programs to lower both the temperature in our homes and our bills. Then, at the end of the show, we’ll bring back a segment we did a year and a half ago about heat pumps and why they could be a huge energy and cost saver for Oregonians. Aaron Orlowski, spokesperson for EWEB. Aaron, great to see you. Thanks so much for coming in and chatting with us.
Aaron Orlowski: Thanks for having me on the show, Michael.
Dunne: Yeah, let’s start with this. We just went through a bit of a heat wave last week. How does a heat wave impact EWEB’s ability to service the community and the demands on energy?
Orlowski: When temperatures rise, so does energy demand. People with air conditioners are working their air conditioners harder to keep their homes and businesses cool, and that means there’s greater demand for energy on the grid. When temperatures are really hot, that can also affect some of the electric distribution infrastructure: the wires start to sag a little and transmit electricity less efficiently. Temperature is the primary driver of energy demand, so that’s what we see when temperatures go up.
Dunne: Okay. I know you all don’t exist in a vacuum. Talk a little about prediction, then preparation, then action planning. When you know summer’s coming and it’s going to be hot, how does it all work? Take us inside the curtain on how EWEB prepares for it all.
Orlowski: EWEB plans our energy supply in the short term, medium term and long term. On the long-term side, we forecast what we think energy demand will be 20 years into the future. That means we’re looking at what kinds of resources we need to procure, contract for and build between now and then. More immediately, in the next year, month or week, we work to make sure our power supply is robust. We have people trading with utility partners and others to make sure we have enough power supply, and that goes down to the hourly level. Every hour we’re participating in what are called wholesale energy markets to make sure we have enough energy to serve our customers.
Dunne: If my memory serves, it used to be that in the summertime, the more temperate Pacific Northwest would, in some ways, send energy to California because it tended to be hotter there. Are things changing in that regard?
Orlowski: We do still send a lot of energy to California at certain times of year, and other times they’re sending energy our way. It’s really a two-way flow. When conditions here in the Northwest are mild and there’s a lot of water in the rivers, which is really the springtime, we have a lot of excess hydropower, and some of that makes its way down to California. On mild days in California when the sun is shining, they might be sending excess solar power our way because that’s when they have more excess power. So it’s a two-way flow, depending on conditions and what resources are available.
Dunne: So, just like traffic going north and south on I-5, there’s traffic in the lines.
Orlowski: Yeah, it’s a two-way flow.
Dunne: It was five years ago when we experienced something incredibly unusual: the heat dome. Talk about how that impacted EWEB.
Orlowski: The heat dome was a memorable moment for all of us. Those were record-setting temperatures that lasted for several days on end, and it wasn’t just that it was high temperatures. It was also that it happened right around the summer solstice, so the days were long with a lot of intense sunshine keeping things hot. From EWEB’s perspective, we saw some of the highest demand for the summer that we’ve ever seen. This is going to get a little technical, but demand on the system was a little over 400 megawatts, and that’s pretty rare for EWEB in the summer. During the winter, we might see peak demand reaching 500 or 550 megawatts, but with the heat dome it was around 400, and that was a harbinger of what’s to come. We know summers are getting hotter, and that’s going to be a trend for decades ahead. That was a stark reminder that we need to plan for these hot temperatures and high energy demand in the future, especially during the summertime.
Dunne: If my memory serves, one of the big issues with the heat dome is that it stayed. It didn’t move off, so there was a lag that created an even worse problem, right?
Orlowski: Yeah, when it’s really hot for days on end, buildings don’t have time to cool down, so the heat stays locked in. During these extended heat waves, you sometimes see energy usage climb even if temperatures are relatively flat, because more and more energy is used to cool buildings that aren’t cooling overnight. During the heat dome, the overnight temperatures were also really hot, comparatively speaking, and that made energy use higher.
Dunne: You mentioned climate change, and obviously things are changing. You talked about long-range forecasting 20 years in advance. I imagine climate change is going to change a lot of that calculus.
Orlowski: It does. One thing we’re doing with our forecasting is making sure to account for those higher temperatures when we’re predicting total energy demand for our community in the coming years. From a technical perspective, we make sure to include those hot temperatures from recent hot years in the data set when we’re forecasting future demand, because we know it will be higher.
Dunne: You mentioned the megawatt demands. I want to dive into that a little, because I’m wondering what’s more of a challenge for EWEB: accommodating the needs of the community during summer or during winter? Another somewhat anomalous event happened not that long ago: that tremendous ice storm. I think most of us would assume that a power company, especially in northern latitudes like ours, would see winter as the big demand, but maybe I’m wrong about that.
Orlowski: You’re actually right. Winter is the more challenging season for us, partly just because of how much colder it gets. If you imagine your house, you want the temperature somewhere between 65 and 80 degrees. A heat wave brings the temperature outside to the 90s, maybe 100 degrees, which is warmer than you want it inside, but not significantly. Whereas with a cold snap, if you’re trying to warm your house and the temperature outside is 20 degrees, that’s a big difference to make up, all the way to 65 degrees inside. So you can think about it that way: heating demands are higher and cause more strain on the energy supply. We need to make sure we can meet that need for heating, especially as our community continues to shift to electric heating. That’s good for the planet and for society, but it is something we need to plan for.
Dunne: Are there concerns, because we had a really dry winter, and obviously hydroelectric is a main source, about that? I’ve also heard we could be heading into what’s called a super El Niño, and it could be another dry winter for us. How are you looking at that, and at demand?
Orlowski: Dry conditions affect our hydropower supply, especially the supply we get from the Bonneville Power Administration, a federal agency that sells energy from dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers. I mention that because it’s a slightly different watershed than our local one here on the McKenzie. In either case, dry conditions on either watershed affect our ability to generate hydropower, and when that’s limited, we have to turn to other resources that could be available. We’re keeping close track of those emerging conditions from EWEB’s perspective.
Dunne: Talk about some of those sustainable energy sources, like solar and wind. Are we seeing a moment where those types of power generation are becoming more viable, more popular?
Orlowski: Nationally, locally and regionally, there’s growing use of wind and solar, especially here in the Northwest. One of our main sources of renewable energy, hydropower, is the biggest one: an immense amount of hydropower. As we just mentioned, that’s under strain sometimes when rain conditions are lessened. But we also have a lot of wind here, and the thing with wind is that it’s highly variable. Some days the wind blows strongly, and some days it doesn’t blow at all, so we have to plan for and account for that. Thankfully, we have flexible hydropower, which can ramp up and down when the wind isn’t blowing as much. On the solar front, there’s good solar potential in eastern Oregon and other parts of the Northwest. It tends to be a bit cloudier here in the valley. And, as I mentioned earlier, we’re able to import solar energy from the Southwest and California, where they have more sunshine than we do here.
Dunne: Yes, they do. So we’re speaking toward the end of June, almost the end of June. From your modeling, what do you think the next three months will be like?
Orlowski: We’re closely watching hydropower conditions: will there be a significant amount of water in the rivers to generate power? That’s going to be a big issue for us. We’re also looking at the temperatures and how those are panning out. For us, temperatures are most important when they produce intense heat waves or intense cold snaps. The run-of-the-mill hot temperatures we can handle, but when the temperature really rises and we get those heat waves and high peak demand, those are the moments we really have to plan for and be cognizant about, to make sure we have the right supply for our customers.
Dunne: Okay, Aaron, as we finish out, I want to talk about customer impacts, because a lot of people listening are thinking, what does this mean for me? Talk about what customers can do, both to cool their homes and in terms of the money they’re paying for utilities. What are some steps they can take?
Orlowski: If you’re concerned about your bill, or how much you’re able to spend on energy, there are a few things you can do to save money during hot weather. The first is to adjust the settings on your thermostat. If you have air conditioning, every degree you change on your thermostat can change your bill by up to 3%, depending on factors like how drafty your house is. Another thing to do is make sure your home is well insulated: that could mean actual insulation in the walls and floor, but also making sure you don’t have air escaping through gaps between the door and door frame, or through windows, to keep that cold air inside. If you don’t have air conditioning, even if you do, opening up the windows at night to cool down the house, getting a couple windows open for a good cross breeze, means you won’t need to run the AC as much during the day. One other thing customers can do: we have an array of programs customers can take advantage of. One of the best, to help fight hot, smoky conditions as wildfire season approaches, is to get an electric heat pump. A heat pump can also cool your home; it functions like air conditioning. We have an $800 rebate for ductless heat pumps and a $1,000 rebate for ducted heat pumps, depending on which is best for your home. We also have rebates for smart thermostats. One of the models you can get is actually free. The thermostat learns your energy practices and can save you money by adjusting the settings a little. It’s not connected to EWEB systems right now, it just figures out the settings in your house and how to optimize them. And going back to insulation: if you’re doing an insulation project to make sure your house isn’t losing cool air, or hot air during the winter months, we have a $1-per-square-foot rebate for that. Look into all those options, and work on some of the things you can do at home to save energy.
Dunne: And for all those programs you just talked about, people could learn more by going to the EWEB website, is that correct?
Orlowski: Yes, you can go to eweb.org/saveenergy to learn more about those programs.
Dunne: Sounds great. Well, here’s hoping we don’t have another heat dome. He’s Aaron Orlowski, spokesperson for EWEB. Aaron, always great to talk to you. Thanks so much.
Orlowski: Thanks again for having me on the show, Michael.
Dunne: Now let’s revisit the issue of heat pumps in a previous segment from a year ago that’s no less salient today. Duard Headley, the energy incentives manager for the Oregon Department of Energy, thanks so much for coming on and chatting with us.
Duard Headley: Thanks for having me.
Dunne: Let’s start with the basics. What is the Oregon Department of Energy’s heat pump purchase program? What does it do?
Headley: The heat pump purchase program is the latest incentive program the Oregon Department of Energy has to incentivize the installation of heat pumps in residential buildings.
Dunne: Okay. I know a lot of people have heard the term heat pump, but could you help us understand what a heat pump is, and what’s so great about them?
Headley: Yeah, it’s interesting: heat pumps were actually invented in the 1850s. A heat pump is a device that takes heat or cool from the outside air and transfers it indoors in a very efficient way.
Dunne: So it’s more energy efficient than, say, traditional air conditioning or traditional furnaces.
Headley: Heat pumps are especially more efficient than resistance heat, like baseboard heat or the wall heaters typically installed in Oregon homes. I think the other important aspect is that it combines both heating and cooling, and a lot of homes, when they were originally built in Oregon, didn’t include cooling because of our climate.
Dunne: I’m wondering, too, as I understand it, this is part of a larger program. I believe it’s called the Climate Equity and Resilience Through Action program. Could you give our audience an understanding of what that program is?
Headley: That’s a much larger program that includes programs like this across state departments, like the transportation department and others. They’re all individual programs with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions or climate pollution throughout the state. The heat pump purchase program, like the other heat pump incentive programs the Department of Energy has, is contractor-centric. We develop a group of approved contractors, primarily for consumer protection reasons, and those approved contractors apply for and claim the incentives on behalf of homeowners or rental property owners. The way it works is the homeowner finds a contractor. We have an approved contractor list on our website. They select one or more of the approved contractors, the contractor installs the heat pump on their home and applies for the incentive once it’s installed, on their behalf. The homeowner or rental property owner doesn’t pay that incentive; the approved contractor takes it off the total and receives the grant. This way it lowers the overall up-front cost for homeowners or rental property owners.
Dunne: Getting back to heat pumps in general, and with whatever numbers you’re comfortable using, comparing what a homeowner might currently have in their home, what kind of monetary savings or energy savings might someone see with a heat pump versus more traditional HVAC options?
Headley: Heat pumps are more energy efficient than other heating and cooling equipment. Cost savings will vary depending on the specifics of the home and the previous heating type. According to Rewiring America, the average household in the United States will save $370 per year by switching to a heat pump. I think it’s important to note that heat pumps provide a lot of other benefits beyond energy savings, including potentially life-saving heating and cooling during extreme heat events, and they also improve indoor air quality, which can be important during wildfire season.
Dunne: Absolutely. I know some money is coming from the state, but there’s also a lot of federal money in programs like this. However you’re comfortable talking about it, are you concerned about potential federal cuts, either happening right now or coming in the near future?
Headley: The heat pump purchase program is funded through a Climate Pollution Reduction Grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and that grant is obligated to the state of Oregon. We’re actively monitoring what’s happening at the federal funding level. It’s certainly not easy to predict, but at this time the funds are available, and we’re proceeding with the program.
Dunne: Do you have ultimate goals for this program, in terms of how many units you want to see installed, how many people utilizing it? What’s your vision for this program?
Headley: The heat pump purchase program is funded for 12,000 incentives, which translates to 12,000 heat pumps installed across the state of Oregon and $24 million in cost savings for Oregonians. Personally, that’s my goal: to see those 12,000 heat pumps installed and for the Department of Energy to deliver those $24 million in cost savings for Oregonians.
Dunne: If a property owner wants to take advantage of this program, what should they do?
Headley: Anybody who wants to participate in the program can go to the Oregon Department of Energy website and identify an approved contractor, then contact that contractor and get a quote. We recommend getting more than one quote and selecting the contractor that’s right for you. The contractor will then install the heat pump and apply for the incentive on your behalf, taking that incentive off the top of your bill, so you’ll have reduced costs up front.
Dunne: Indeed. Duard Headley with the Oregon Department of Energy, thank you so much for spending some time with us to talk about this program.
Headley: Thank you. I’m always glad to talk with you.
Dunne: That’s the show for today. All episodes of Oregon on the Record are available as a podcast at KLCC.org. Tomorrow on the show, we check in with our OPB colleague about the recent ruling by the Supreme Court on mail-in voting and how it protects something beloved in Oregon. I’m Michael Dunne, host of Oregon on the Record. Thanks for listening.
