Power demand surges in Inland Empire
As the late summer heat wave pushed temperatures into the triple digits for the third consecutive day in Riverside, demand for power surged, with record-breaking energy consumption citywide, officials said Monday.
According to Riverside Public Utilities, just more than 610 megawatts — enough to power 400,000 homes and businesses — was consumed today, surpassing the record set on Aug. 30, 2007, when roughly 609 megawatts was sent to the grid to meet local needs.
“Our energy delivery and generation crews recognized that more energy would be needed as this week began,” said RPU Assistant General Manager Pat Hohl. “Crews were at the ready, and we were able to start up our generation plants within the city to ensure there was enough power to meet the needs of our customer-owners.'”
RPU officials said the past decade’s plant acquisitions and upgrades have paid off, adding 192 megawatts of reserve capacity to the city grid.
No power outages have been reported in the city during the heat wave.
However, in neighboring Corona, more than 100 homes and businesses served by Southern California Edison lost electricity today because of apparent weather-related strain on the equipment.
