Auto makers contribute to energy conservation efforts

Many Ontario residents headed back to work on Monday but it was hardly business as usual in the wake of the massive electricity blackout that struck the province August 14 and 15. Auto makers in Ontario reported Monday they had complied with power conservation requests by shutting down some assembly plants, reducing shifts and reducing lighting and electrical use at facilities that are operating.
GM of Canada, DaimlerChrysler and Toyota all reported they had taken steps to curb usage, and would make decisions regarding operations on a day-by-day basis as they continue to monitor the energy supply situation.
Although electrical power was restored over the weekend, Ontario’s power generation capacity is not back to its usual levels, and the provincial government has asked residents, commercial businesses and industrial operations to reduce electricity usage.
As of mid-morning Monday, August 18, the conservation efforts appeared to be paying off. The Independent Electricity Market Operator for Ontario said demand at 9:30 a.m. was 16,500 MW, compared with typical consumption of 22,000 to 24,000 MW.
Media reports note that U.S. auto facilities were also expected to be back in production by Monday, although some plants were faced with similar requests to ramp up slowly so as not to overwhelm local power grids.