Amador County – Amador Water Agency’s board of directors recently heard from Pacific Gas & Electric on its “Peak Day” program, designed to save electricity costs for companies that can conserve electricity on high demand days.

PG&E representative Randy Herbst encouraged the Agency to try the program for a year but acknowledged that AWA peak demand often coincides with PG&E peak pricing, making it challenging to take advantage of PG&E discount programs.

AWA General Manager Gene Mancebo said board discussion “focused on attempts to lower costs of pumping on the Central Amador Water Project water supply and treatment systems.” AWA Field Operations Manager Chris McKeage said the “CAWP system doesn’t have enough tank storage capacity to turn off the CAWP pumps and take advantage of time-of-day pricing.” He said “operators are reluctant to let tank levels drop in the hottest part of the summer because it can take days to catch up.”

Mancebo said directors “also discussed incentive money available from PG&E that could help pay for the Gravity Supply Line, as the gravity-fed pipeline would eliminate the demand for a significant amount of electricity.”

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