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Conservation efforts tested by heat wave
Posted 7/25/2011 Updated 7/25/2011
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by Danielle Lord
35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
7/25/2011 - MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan -- The 35th Civil Engineering Squadron officially declared Power Condition BRAVO for Misawa Air Base July 12, due to significant increases in power usage during the base's conservation efforts.
The PWRCON system was created March 11 due to the earthquake and damage to the Tohoku Power Company infrastructure. The system monitors base consumption and aids in power conservation. Following the earthquake the Japanese government required companies in Northern Japanese to decrease their energy consumption by 15 percent. PWRCON BRAVO is issued when the base breaks the self-imposed consumption line. After PWRCON BRAVO if conservation doesn't improve, then the base begins to run on generators and stricter conservation is enforced.
"Our contracted power from Tohoku Power Company is 17.574 mega-watts. When we break 15 percent of the contracted amount the base enters PWRCON BRAVO creating a heightened conservation effort," said 2nd Lieutenant Carly Reimer, 35th CES.
Misawa Air Base was not required to meet the Japanese regulation, but to be courteous to the Japanese and their resources, the base decided to preserve power as well.
"The reason we have a self-imposed power limit is because we are using Japanese resources, so we need to be considerate. We were given the waiver [for the conservation requirement] but Misawa Air Base decided against it," said 2nd Lieutenant Reimer.
Before the summer heat, energy levels were low. But the 35th CES says once temperatures rose, so did energy use.
"It's hot, it's humid, and it's muggy. Everyone is running fans; the industrial side of is running their air conditioning," said Lieutenant Reimer.
Even though temperatures continue to rise, the base can still help keep the consumption percentage low. Residents should keep conserving energy as they did before by shutting off lights, running appliances during non-peak hours, and keeping windows open help ventilate houses.
"If you're working in a facility with plenty of windows and doors, don't use your air conditioning even if you're authorized, keep them open. Using fans to circulate the air is a good idea. Just because you're authorized air conditioning doesn't mean you need it," said Lieutenant Reimer.
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