TVA Sees Record Power Demand During Cold Snap

During the past week with the coldest temperatures so far this winter across the Tennessee Valley, TVA set an all-time record for energy demand in a 24-hour period Wednesday, and reached a new power peak for the year on Thursday.

The Tennessee Valley Authority announced that Wednesday's morning peak power demand was officially 31,639 megawatts—the twelfth highest winter peak on record.

But then, Thursday's peak demand rose to 32,513 megawatts at 9 a.m. when temperatures across its seven-state region averaged just 14 degrees. That was the sixth-highest winter peak ever for TVA, and topped the 10th-highest which TVA reached just two weeks ago on Jan. 2 at 31,740 megawatts.

With temperatures below freezing all day Wednesday across the service area, consumption for the entire day hit a new high of 706 gigawatt hours for TVA.

TVA noted that electricity costs are actually a bit lower than last year, but the increased consumption so far this winter will probably offset any noticeable savings for consumers.