CHILI, N.Y. — The demand for energy during this heat wave is high. The state says the power grid should be able to handle it but of course, they’re urging you to conserve where you can.

In the long term, RG&E’s new smart meters should show you exactly how much energy you’re using at any given moment so you can make adjustments. But as News10NBC Investigative Reporter Jennifer Lewke reports, the roll-out is still ongoing so for now, you’ve got to stick to the basics.

“The basics, things like closing your blinds during the hottest times of the day, turning down the air-conditioning when you’re not home, and waiting to run appliances like your dishwasher or washer and dryer until later in the evening when things cool down a bit,” Lewke said.

Once the roll-out of the smart meters is complete, you can see exactly how much energy you’re using at any given hour and make adjustments accordingly. Initially, the hope is that you’ll want to help ease the load, especially on days like Monday– but eventually, if you don’t:

“I think… ya know I don’t think we’ve put out any official word about that yet Jennifer but I would expect, we’re enabling the customer to have more control over their usage and you can choose, do you want that control, do you want to be able to do that, does it make more sense for you to switch to a demand kind of billing setup,” said Shelby Cohen, RG&E/NYSEG spokeswoman.

In the meantime, RG&E and NYSEG say they’re doing what they can to monitor their usage to ensure the supply is there when we all need it.

“We’re postponing all planned work that would have put stress on our systems, on the load this week, and really scheduling additional staffing as needed to respond to any outages and continuing to monitor our grid as always in case issues arise,” Cohen said.

Another suggestion for folks using air-conditioning. If it’s a window unit, close the door in the room where you’re using it, it’ll save you money. And if you have central air, make sure the condenser is shaded from the sun.

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