Heat advisory sparks record electricity peak demand for El Paso Electric customers
A brutally hot summer and resulting heat advisory in Texas sent customers of El Paso Electric Company (EPE) scrambling to a new peak electricity demand of 2,173 MW this year, blowing out predictions for years to come.
Until now, EPE hadn’t expected such a peak demand level to be reached until 2026. It was 188 MW higher than the previous peak set last year. It represents the highest level of energy demand growth to date, and came amidst a 7-day heat advisory for the El Paso region.
“This year’s record-breaking increase in peak demand proves the need to further invest in and automate our grid, continue our capital investment program, and move forward with new planned generation to meet the increasing energy needs of our customers,” Adrian Rodriguez, EPE interim CEO, said. “By 2023 we expect to add 320 MW of generating capacity from large solar facilities and a new state-of-the-art air-cooled natural gas-fired generation unit. One utility-scale solar facility will also utilize battery storage, a first for our utility.”
It comes at a time when people are already taxed by the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Texas has been particularly hard hit in recent days.
As to the new peak demand, it occurred as afternoon temperatures hit highs of 110 degrees. During the seven days surrounding this, customers hit new peak demand records nine times. Still, the area has a history of rising need: a new annual peak has been hit by EPE customers in 19 of the last 21 years.
Typically, the company reports this is fueled by annual customer growth, adoption and conversion of air conditioning and increasingly hot weather. With the pandemic underway, though, more people are staying and working at home, meaning residential use has increased significantly.
