The frigid temperatures caused by the polar vortex resulted in record-setting electric and natural gas use in Pennsylvania and public appeals by both PJM Interconnection, the regional electricity grid operator, and the Public Utility Commission to conserve energy.

PJM broke the record for peak winter electricity use twice on Tuesday from the previous peak of 136,675 megawatts in 2007. (One megawatt is enough to provide power for about 1,000 homes.)  Monday morning’s electricity use peaked at 138,000 MW and in the evening at 141,312 MW.

PECO customer demand for electricity and natural gas to soar to record-breaking levels. Customer demand for electricity reached 7,148 megawatts (MW), shattering PECO’s previous all-time winter energy use peak of 6,852 MW set on February 5, 2007. Customer demand for natural gas totaled 759,550 thousand cubic feet (mcf), surpassing the previous all-time winter daily total of 718,362 mcf set on January 17, 2000.

PPL’s preliminary figures show the demand on the system for the hour ending at 6 p.m. Tuesday was 7,784 megawatt-hours, eclipsing the all-time winter peak of 7,577 megawatt-hours set on Feb. 5, 2007. The new demand record means customers used 7.78 million kilowatt-hours of power in the hour in which the mark was set, enough to power more than 700 homes for a year.

All three UGI natural gas divisions recorded all-time high deliveries during the 24-hour period between January 7 and January 8. Together, UGI Gas Division, UGI Penn Natural Gas and UGI Central Gas distributed more than 1.2 million dekatherms of natural gas to customers between 10 a.m. Tuesday and 10 a.m. Wednesday, the time frame UGI uses to define its gas day.

In addition, UGI’s Electric Division, which serves approximately 62,000 customers in Luzerne and Wyoming Counties, recorded a record peak load of 222,424 megawatt hours at 7:00 p.m. on January 7. At the time, the temperature in the Electric Division was 3 degrees with wind gusts reaching as high as 35 miles per hour. The previous record of 214,616 megawatts hours was set on July 22, 2011.

UGI Gas Division, which primarily serves the central and southeastern regions of Pennsylvania including Harrisburg, Lancaster, Reading, Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton, distributed 664,008 dekatherms in the 24-hour time period, shattering the previous peak of 580,549 dekatherms set on January 23, 2013.

UGI Penn Natural Gas, which serves Northeast Pennsylvania including Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and Williamsport, distributed 398,631 dekatherms, breaking the previous record of 339,190 dekatherms set on January 23, 2013.

UGI Central Penn Gas, which serves communities across the state, distributed 176,871 dekatherms, exceeding its previous peak of 163,724 dekatherms set on January 22, 2013.

For more information on energy conservation steps you can take, visit the PUC’s Prepare Now webpage.

NewsClips:

Demand For Electricity Set Records Tuesday

Rolling Blackouts Possible As Polar Vortex Strains Grid

Electric Use Sets Record, Conservation Urged

Cold Snap Fuels Demand For Heat, Energy

Editorial: Power Of Energy Conservation

PA Allows Electricity Shopping For Low-Income PECO Customers

Duquesne Light To Begin Installing Smart Meters

Proposal Nearly Doubles Renewable Energy Requirement

Beaver Valley Nuclear Reactor Shut Down

PA Stands In Middle Of Clean Air Battle

Op-Ed: Carbon Tax Key To Fighting Global Warming

Op-Ed: Coal’s New Best Friends: An Environmentalists, Obama’s EPA

Editorial: The Coal Debacle

Editorial: Don’t Forget Rich Coal Mining History

1/13/2014