The CT Air Quality Update map shows the location of Connecticut's air quality monitoring stations and a color code to represent the most recent air quality being measured.  For more information visit  www.airquality.gov.

There are a total of 22 ambient air monitoring sites in Connecticut.  Eleven of these sites measure ozone from April through September and nine sites measure fine particulate matter throughout the year.  Visit the CT DEP's air monitoring web page for more information.

Air quality is measured at specific sites in Connecticut, so those sites may not represent the air quality at your location.  Air quality can often be highly variable from one part of the State to another, depending on the meteorological conditions.  Some pollutants, like fine particulate matter can have more of a localized effect, whereas ozone tends to be a more regional event.   In the winter, ozone is generally low, but fine particulate matter can be elevated in river valleys and urban areas.  Therefore, one cannot always rely on the air quality measured at the closest site, but should look at several of the surrounding sites to help determine any spatial trends.

Elevated levels of both ozone and particulate matter can have serious health effects, especially for those who are more sensitive to air pollution.

Ozone can:

• Make it more difficult to breathe deeply and vigorously.
• Cause shortness of breath and pain when taking a deep breath.
• Cause coughing and sore or scratchy throat.
• Inflame and damage the lung lining. 
• Make the lungs more susceptible to infection.
• Aggravate lung diseases such as asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.
• Increase the frequency of asthma attacks.
• Continue to damage the lungs even when the symptoms have disappeared.

Particles can:

• Aggravate heart diseases such as congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease.
• Cause you to experience chest pain, palpitations, shortness of breath and fatigue.
• Increase the risk of cardiac arrhythmias and heart attacks.
• Aggravate lung diseases such as asthma and bronchitis. 
• Cause respiratory symptoms including coughing, phlegm, chest discomfort, wheezing and shortness of breath. 
• Also increase your susceptibility to respiratory infections.

During the summer season, ozone is produced on warm sunny days in combination with pollutants from fossil fuel combustion as well as volatile organic compounds.  Power plants running on fossil fuels emit more ozone precursor pollutants (such as nitrogen oxides) during days of high power demand.  Ozone production is increased during those days, especially when higher emitting power generators are called into service to meet the State’s energy demand.  Therefore, it is in everyone’s health interest to limit power consumption on those days when high ozone concentrations are forecast.

Whenever the AQI is forecast to be over ‘100’, which is the level of ‘Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups.’    Please note that especially sensitive individuals may exhibit cardiac and respiratory symbols below this level.

Locate the Annual Summary Information for Ozone page on CT DEP web site.

Here are some tips that the EPA recommends to improve air quality:
 

• Conserve electricity;
• Consider setting the thermostat setting a few degrees higher on your air conditioner in summer;
• Consider setting the thermostat setting on your heating system a little lower in winter;
• Participate in local energy conservation programs;
• Look for the ENERGY STAR label when buying home or office equipment;
• Keep car, boat and other engines properly tuned, and avoid engines that smoke;
• Car pool, use public transportation, bike or walk when possible;
• Combine errands to reduce "cold starts" of your car and avoid extended idling;
• Consider using gas logs instead of wood. If you use a wood-burning stove or fireplace insert, make sure it meets EPA design specifications and burn only dry, seasoned wood;
• Mulch or compost leaves and other yard waste.

Tips for days when particle pollution is expected to be high:

• Reduce the number of trips you take in your car;
• Reduce or eliminate fireplace and wood stove use;
• Avoid using gas-powered lawn and garden equipment;
• Avoid burning leaves, trash and other materials.
•  

Air quality is constantly being measured and forecasted daily throughout the year in Connecticut.  The two pollutants represented on the map are ozone and fine particulate matter.  Each is measured separately and the highest air quality index that is measured at the site is represented as a colored circle on the map.  When measured air quality reaches a specified level (i.e. green= good, yellow= moderate), the station color represented on the air quality map will change to reflect the current air quality.

Air quality publications are available on the publication page of airnow.gov.

No.  The Graph is meant to educate consumers about how peak electric demand can impact cost and the environment.  While peak demand can affect reliability, you must refer to the CT Power Update Map, the System Reliability tab, for this information.

Current Demand (the green dot and value) is the real-time amount of electricity that Connecticut's homes, businesses, schools, government, etc. are using, measured in megawatts.  The green line shows the actual demand that occured throughout the day.

Forecasted Demand is an estimate of the demand that will occur throughout the day.  The forecast is provided by ISO New England and is represented by the grey line.

The red line is an average of past seasonal peak demands.  The goal is to keep the current system demand below the red line to help control overall electric costs in Connecticut.

The Graph compares Connecticut's current electric demand to the daily forecasted peak demand.  It also shows past seasonal peak demands.  The goal is to keep current demand below past peak levels to help control future electric costs. Success will be indicated whenever actual demand (green line) remains below the historical peak (red line).

Historical peak demand is used to set a portion of our future costs. So, exceeding the historical peak, (green line crosses the red line) can increase costs in the future. However, if we can keep current demand below past levels we can control costs going forward.

Connecticut’s peak demand—the highest coincident use of electricity—occurs between noon and 8 p.m. on weekdays. The highest peaks typically occur on hot, humid summer days and are driven largely by air conditioning. However, other appliances, such as pool pumps, dehumidifiers, dishwashers and clothes washers and dryers also contribute to peak demand.

You can lessen peak demand by reducing “discretionary” electric use during Connecticut's peak hours, weekday between noon and 8 pm.  Appliances and devices that can lessen peak demand include pool pumps, dehumidifiers, dishwashers and clothes washers and dryers. Consumers are encouraged to avoid the use of these items generally during the peak hours of noon to 8 p.m. The reminder here is to “Wait 'til 8” to use major appliances.

Note that while limiting the use of major appliances takes a big chunk out of discretionary usage, reducing the use of other, smaller devices adds up as well. Any reduction in unnecessary use of electricity will help relieve system demand.

Controlling peak demand and being energy efficient in general provide economic, environmental and societal benefits, as follows.

Economic benefits. Current electric costs are partially driven by past years' annual peak demands.  So, controlling peak demand today helps control future system‑wide costs. High peak demand affects the wholesale price of electricity and can require higher costs associated with investments in transmission lines and generators to keep Connecticut's electric system reliable.

Environmental benefits. Many peak generating plants in service today are older, less efficient units that produce more harmful emissions. So, reducing peak demand can help improve air quality by requiring these plants to run less frequently.

Societal benefits. When the electric system becomes strained by high demand, Connecticut becomes vulnerable to power disruptions. These disruptions are commonly referred to as rolling brownouts (i.e., voltage reductions) and rolling blackouts (i.e., shutting off power for up to two hours) in varying sections of the state.

These benefits can be summarized as follows: “Taking actions to reduce peak demand can help control overall costs for everyone, lower harmful emissions and reduce the strain on Connecticut's electric system to maintain reliability.”

The Connecticut electric system, sometimes referred to as the state power grid, consists of hundreds of miles of high-voltage electric transmission lines that carry electricity from generating plants in Connecticut and across New England to local distribution systems operated by The Connecticut Light and Power Company, The United Illuminating Company and several municipal electric systems.

One megawatt is equal to one million watts of electricity and provides enough electricity to power approximately 200 homes during periods of peak summer demand.  The number of homes whose needs can be met by one megawatt varies by season, time of day and each homes' power demand. One megawatt can serve more homes in the middle of the night or during the spring and fall when the demand of each home is lower.

Status	Color	Definition
Normal	Green	The available supply of electricity is sufficient to meet demand at this time, and the power system is operating normally.
Power Caution	Yellow	Electricity reserves are lower than normal. However, there is still sufficient power to meet the needs of customers.
Power Watch	Orange	Additional steps to manage electric capacity could affect the public and customers should reduce unnecessary power usage.
Power Warning	Red	Immediate reduction in power usage is necessary to avert an overload of the electrical system.

The Connecticut electric system, sometimes referred to a the state power grid, consists of hundreds of miles of high-voltage electric transmission lines that carry electricity from generating plants in Connecticut and across New England to local distribution systems operated by The Connecticut Light and Power Company, The United Illuminating Company, and several municipal electric systems.

For more information on Connecticut's electric power grid, see ISO-New England's key

facts at www.iso-ne.com/nwsiss/grid_mkts/key_facts/connecticut.pdf

and the Connecticut Siting Council's annual Forecast of Loads and Resources at

www.ct.gov/csc/lib/csc/f2007/csc_forecast_07.pdf.

For more information on how electricity flows, visit

www.iso-ne.com/nwsiss/grid_mkts/elec_works/index.html.