Peak Power - Work Schedule Adjustments for June 29 & 30

Dear Campus Community:

Due to elevated electricity demand across the grid, GCSU is subject to a significant cost premium on electricity consumption today with this cost premium forecasted to persist through Friday.  This elevated demand is particularly acute during peak hours of 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. with a programmed quadrupling of rates today and considerably higher rates (by a factor of 10) tomorrow. 

In light of this high demand period and comparatively low operations tempo, our institution has made some adjustments to the work schedule for Thursday, June 29 and Friday, June 30.

In order to be good stewards of our resources and to limit our environmental impact, we ask that all personnel who can complete their university duties by working remotely from home to please do so for the remainder of this week.

We hope this initiative, leading into the extended holiday weekend will help us mitigate these increased costs during the peak periods laid out in yesterday’s email from Frank Baugh, AVP for Facilities Management. 

Making adjustments like this now will help give the university the opportunity to offset higher electricity costs later in the summer when the higher temperatures will remain, but our employees’ time on campus can be more crucial. Last year, rising electricity costs made as much as a $13,000 impact on our power bill in a single day.

We fully understand that faculty and staff involved in face-to-face classes, the Bridge Scholars program, student support services and summer camps, public museums, and ongoing end of fiscal year activities, some personnel may be required to remain in the office. It will be up to the discretion of department supervisors and leadership teams to make the decisions of who will be eligible to work from home.

To reiterate – Thursday and Friday are not holidays. All employees working from home are required to be available for our standard summer hours: 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Thursday with a 30-minute lunch break, and again from 8 a.m. to noon on Friday.  If you are already scheduled to be on annual or sick leave, this opportunity does not change that request. 

We request that when you leave work, that all employees adhere to the suggestions provided in Mr. Baugh’s message: closing window blinds, turning all office and common area lights off, setting your thermostat to 75 degrees, turning off all computers, and unplugging appliances where available.

Actions like this will help our university as we continue to support world-wide conservation efforts, and address the tight budgets we face and will face in the coming year.

Cathy Cox, J.D.

President