By Staff
Jason Cannon, Franklin County Times
As summer temperatures continue to rise, thermostats begin to fall and put a drain on local power grids.
The blistering heat this week has prompted the Tennessee Valley Authority to ask its customers to conserve electricity but Steve Defoor, general manager of the Russellville Electric Board, said there is no need for anyone to panic.
"People just need to take some common sense measures to conserve electricity," he said. "Turn your thermostat up when you go to work…anything you can do to save a little on electricity."
Defoor said the conservation requests were not mandates, only suggestions since TVA's demand for electrical power is at record levels.
"You can take these small steps to make sure there's enough power for everyone all summer long," he said.
According to a release from the TVA, record high temperatures on Monday pushed consumer demand for electricity to an all-time high on the TVA system as peak use reached a record 32,095 megawatts at 6 p.m. EDT with temperatures across the 80,000-square-mile service region averaging 94 degrees.
The previous all-time system peak was 32,008, met on July 18, 2006, when the average temperature across the Valley was 97 degrees.
The extreme heat is expected to push electricity use higher this week as afternoon temperatures are forecast in the upper 90s to low 100s.
Electricity conservation tips