Extreme Heat Over The Weekend Drives New SRP Records For Energy Demand

July 14, 2020

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
Posted July 14, 2020

Salt River Project (SRP) on Saturday, July 11, and Sunday, July 12, delivered a record amount of energy to its Phoenix-area retail customers, the Arizona-based public power utility reported on July 13.

Between 5 and 6 p.m. on Saturday, SRP delivered an estimated retail peak demand of 7,395 megawatts (MW). That peak topped SRP’s previous system peak of 7,305 MW, which occurred on July 25, 2018.

Then on Sunday, SRP shattered both figures by delivering an estimated retail peak-demand record of 7,615 MW between 5 and 6 p.m. One megawatt is enough energy to power about 225 average homes.

SRP reported that strong customer demand is the result of several factors, including a series of extreme daytime temperatures, higher overnight temperatures and an increase in the number of SRP electric customers. The high temperature recorded on Saturday was 115 and was 116 on Sunday.

“We were able to meet the increased customer demand thanks to a robust electrical grid maintained year-round to provide reliable service and our dedicated employees who continue to rise to the challenge despite the circumstances we face due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Barbara Sprungl, SRP’s Manager of Power Supply and Trading.

Scott Harelson, an SRP spokesman, on July 14 said that SRP on Monday, July 13, peaked at an estimated 7,051 MW.

On the morning of July 14, SRP was already tracking a little bit under Monday’s demand and the expected high was around 109, so SRP was not likely to enter into record energy demand territory.