Amid Heat Wave, U.S. Electric Use Hits Record

Power consumption across the U.S. and parts of Canada soared with scorching temperatures to new record highs on Monday, but blackouts were unlikely unless there were major equipment failures, said the industry group that oversees transmission.

By mid-afternoon, power demand in the Midwest region and Texas exceeded 2005 records and continued to climb.

Expected electric use will far exceed a summer forecast issued in May by the North American Electric Reliability Council, the group said.

"We are shattering old records," said Stan Johnson, NERC's manager of situation awareness. "It's very unusual to see records being set all across North America."

I also couldn't help but notice this passage:

"We are feeling pretty good," Johnson said as late afternoon peak-hour demand approached the East Coast. "We are watching some areas: the upper Midwest, the mid-Atlantic states, California and Ontario."

Those were areas where power-plant construction has not kept pace with growing demand for electricity, Johnson said.

Yep, like California. More information, here.

Technorati tags: Environment, Energy, Politics, Technology, Economics, Electricity

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