BOISE, Idaho — Idaho Power says its customers in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon used a record amount of electricity last week.
Company spokesman Sven Bert said Idaho Power set new all-time records for energy delivered to customers on each of the final three days of June.
On Monday, June 28, customers used 3,516 megawatts (MW) of electricity during it peak hour of the day. On Tuesday, June 29, 3,724 MW were used, and on the evening of Wednesday, June 30, Idaho Power hit an all-time high of 3,751 MW used.
That peak load eclipsed the previous high of 3,422 MW, set July 7, 2017, by more than 9.4%. When the old mark was set, Idaho Power served about 540,000 customers. The company now has more than 590,000 customers.
Unprecedented growth in southern Idaho and extended record-breaking heat across the region have driven up demand for electricity. Berg says peak demands occur on hot summer afternoons between 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. as air conditioners and agricultural irrigation pumps work overtime.
The utility continues to ask its customers to reduce their energy use between the hours of 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., whenever possible to reduce strain on the energy grid, but the company says its system has performed well during the record-setting heatwave.
“We have experts who train year-round for exactly these types of scenarios,” said Adam Richins, Idaho Power’s Chief Operating Officer. “Last week’s success in meeting extremely high demand shows just how skilled our people are and how resilient our system is. We also appreciate all our customers who helped lighten the load in the evening hours.”
Officials says dialing back the AC by turning up your thermostat in the evening does make a difference.
Idaho Power met the increased demand through a diverse set of resources, including its 17 hydroelectric plants, three natural gas-powered plants, two coal-fired plants and energy purchased from wind, solar and other small independent energy producers as well as energy imported from other parts of the West.
"We may have broken the record again this week, we are still waiting for the final numbers," Berg said. We will let you know when those figures are released.
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