Fearing a deficit of power this summer due to high demand, ISO New England, the corporation responsible for managing the supply of electricity in New England, began a publicity campaign last week urging people to conserve energy.

The campaign, dubbed “Take Charge,” will only run in the metro-Boston area and southeastern Connecticut, specifically Fairfield County. According to the Boston Globe, over-usage in these areas could lead to “Third World-style rolling blackouts.”

Power demand generally increases in the summer as the temperature rises and companies and individuals require more electricity to operate air conditioners. At peak usage, however, demand could exceed the power grid’s ability to provide all users with electricity.

The problem, according to Public Service of New Hampshire spokesman Martin Murray, is not a lack of power plants; but a problem of transportation. The existing transmitters would be unable to bring in enough power to metro-Boston or southeastern Connecticut if demand were to hit a predicted maximum.

“The important thing to keep in mind,” Murray says, “is that this is a regional issue. It’s not state by state; it’s not black and white.” Murray points out that New Hampshire doesn’t face the issues of high population or areas of population density that metro-Boston and southeastern Connecticut do. “We’re fairly confident we’ll get through the summer with little problem.”

PSNH predicts that New Hampshire will break the record for wattage demand this summer. The record was set and broken three times last summer; the standing record is 2,122 mega-watts, set on July 27, 2005. Even if usage should exceed this record on a given day, PSNH is confident that New Hampshire should have no problem meeting its power demands.

“On any given day, even in summer, there’s enough energy to meet demand,” Murray says. “The only time you run into a problem is when some unforeseen event takes place.” Murray says damage to a power plant or power transmitters could lead to power shortages.

Residents can help keep power demands low on a regular basis, though.

“There’s a lot of little, common sense things people can do,” Murray says. “Like turning off the lights when you leave a room; using drapes or shades to cool your home instead of relying solely on the air conditioning; increasing the thermostat on your air conditioner just a bit—say to 72 instead of 70—so it has to work that much less.” PSNH also encourages clients to purchase energy-efficient appliances, going so far as to offer rebates on certain purchases.

In the case of a power shortage problem, ISO-NE has a system in place much like the National Weather Service’s storm warning system. There are two different levels. A “power watch” is a voluntary call to reduce usage, and a “power warning” is an immediate call from the governor to conserve energy.