Launching a new campaign earlier this week, Poland’s climate ministry and electricity transmission system operator PSE said that shifting power consumption to off-peak times could reduce bills while boosting the country’s energy security and contributing to environmental protection, state news agency PAP reported.
PSE CEO Eryk Kłossowski told a news briefing that peak hours usually occur in the afternoon when energy generated from solar panels drops while that from conventional sources such as coal and gas increases.
The campaign includes tips that encourage small changes to everyone’s behaviour to help save energy, such as “unplugging all appliances that are in standby mode, unplugging chargers unnecessarily plugged in, and turning off the lights in rooms that are currently not in use,” Kłossowski said, as quoted by the PAP news agency.
“We also recommend moving activities such as running a washing machine or dishwasher or baking in the oven to off-peak time,” he added.
Kłossowski went on to explain how consumers can identify peak electricity demand time by referring to his company's website.
“There’s a banner-like tool there that resembles a tailor’s tape measure which shows the peak electricity demand hours," he said. "These will be displayed in yellow one day in advance between 4 and 5 p.m. as an indicator for the following day."
In support of the climate ministry’s efforts, heating sector officials have launched their own campaign, called Liczy się ciepło (Heat Counts). It aims to encourage people to economise on district heating.
“Poles are aware of how heat saving impacts environmental issues, household budget savings and health problems, yet they sometimes lack detailed information to help them support heat saving activities,” Dorota Jeziorowska, chief of the Polish Association of Co-generation Plants, told public broadcaster Polish Radio's IAR news agency.
“Detailed and clear guidelines are certainly missing here, which is actually what motivated us to launch this campaign,” she added.
As problems with energy sources are becoming more acute in Poland, following efforts to move away from Russian deliveries, both households and businesses have been urged to economise.
Under new rules, civil servants have also been told to save energy, the Rzeczpospolita daily reported in late November.
State employees are expected to work with natural light and reduced temperature in their offices, use black-and-white printing and switch off all electrical appliances after work, according to the newspaper.
The façade lighting of the Polish Prime Minister’s Office has also been switched off as part of the energy conservation drive, Rzeczpospolita said.
(mo/gs)
Source: PAP
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