Reproduced from: PSE Healthy Energy. 2020. “Massachusetts Peaker Power Plants: Energy Storage Replacement Opportunities”. Available at: https://www.psehealthyenergy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Massachusetts.pdf
Massachusetts is home to 23 peaker plants across the Commonwealth. “Peaker” plants are electric generators that are called upon during times of maximum customer demand, which typically occurs between 4 PM and 9 PM on weekdays. Peakers produce the highest levels of emission when run compared to other plants on the grid, as they are often older and many use more emissions-intensive fossil fuels like oil, making them less efficient and more costly to operate. Emissions from these plants are linked to a variety of adverse health effects, like asthma and respiratory symptoms.
As hot temperatures, and other extreme weather, lead to spikes in energy demand, Massachusetts will see increasingly higher electric demand on hot summer days. However, there are steps consumers can take to reduce peak demand and associated peaker plant pollution. Text and email alerts such as Shave The Peak from the Green Energy Consumer Alliance or the Metropolitan Area Planning Council’s Peak Electricity Demand Notification program let consumers known when it’s a peak days so that they can reduce energy use. Mass Save, a Massachusetts initiative aimed at helping residents with energy efficiency improvements, offers rebates to control household smart thermostats during peak times to help reduce demand. Consumers can also help reduce the peak by shifting when they use appliances, charging electric cars off peak, and generally reducing electricity consumption during peak windows.
