Members of Dakota Electric Association who are on the dual fuel load management program are encouraged to make sure they have adequate supplies of their secondary fuel source this winter. Dakota Electric’s power supplier, Great River Energy, has notified its member cooperatives that it expects to increase control hours this winter due to high prices in the natural gas and electricity markets. According to Great River Energy, they also expect additional pricing pressure in the wholesale power markets during the heating season due to natural gas supply competition for household heating. Great River Energy will manage costs by using the dual fuel program to reduce load during peak pricing hours, which may include both morning and evening peak load periods. The primary heating system can be controlled up to 12 hours per day and up to 400 hours per heating season. Control occurs on days of high electrical demand, high wholesale energy prices and/or system emergencies. For more on this winter’s load control projections and how members can be prepared for it, visit power supply updates at DakotaElectric.com.
