-- California’s ongoing energy crisis is being felt by the City of Sunnyvale’s outdoor recreation facilities.
"Unfortunately, electricity cannot be stored for use at a later date and conserving energy during times of ‘non-peak demand’ does not help to alleviate shortages experienced during times of ‘peak demand’," said Parks Superintendent Curtis Black. "As a result, we have had to adjust our standard practices to reflect the power shortage. We have tried to minimize the impact on customers, and while we hate to alter our high service standards, we know our customers will understand given the circumstances," Black continued.
Until further notice, the following changes will be in place - effective immediately:
- Timers on night lights for neighborhood park tennis courts, basketball courts, and volleyball courts will be set to restrict play during hours of peak electrical demand, allowing play during hours, after 7:00pm during non-peak demand.
- Tennis players at the Las Palmas Tennis Center will not be given the option of other courts to play on if there is an empty, lit court available (the Las Palmas Tennis Center lights are wired to turn on and off in sets of two, not individually).
- The implementation of rolling blackouts during the day will not result (as previously communicated) in automatic closure of either the Las Palmas Tennis Center or the Sunken Gardens Driving Range at night. During periods of rolling blackouts, the driving range and tennis center will close during peak demand hours only and re-open after 7:00pm during non-peak demand
hours.
- Permits for organized sports activities requiring night lights (such as little league, youth soccer, adult softball leagues) will be honored due to the lengthy and complex planning efforts undertaken by user groups to schedule play and the fact that the vast majority of said usage is during hours of non-peak demand.
The California Air Resources Board has defined 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. as hours of "peak demand."
