Duke Energy hit two usage records in a week during recent heat wave

Duke Energy Carolinas set a record for summer-power usage of 21,086 megawatt-hours on June 13. Then the utility says it set a new record of 21,265 megawatt-hours — just two days later.

“We had a full week of very high temperatures, which resulted in record customer summer usage, but we had an effective plan in place and extensive preparations ahead of the season to reliably serve our customers throughout this stretch of hot weather,” says Sam Holeman, Duke’s vice president of system planning and operations.

Duke Energy Corp. utilities report record highs for winter and summer months for any one-hour period in a given day. The most recent record was set in the hour ending at 5 p.m. on June 15. The previous record was set in the hour ending at 6 p.m. on June 13.

ALSO READ: Duke Energy initiative looks to add diverse businesses to the solar energy industry

The all-time record peak occurred during the Polar Vortex in January 2018, with Duke Carolinas’ customers using 21,620 megawatt-hours of electricity that morning. But the utility is creeping closer to that record with the months of July and August — when it normally sees its summer peaks — still coming.

Read more here.

(READ MORE: Duke Energy initiative looks to add diverse businesses to the solar energy industry)