Heat Wave: Portsmouth Electricity Record Set

PORTSMOUTH, NH -- - The Seacoast's steamy weather on Tuesday didn't set a temperature record, but was expected to contribute to one for energy use.

ISO New England, operator of the regional power grid, expected a one-day record-breaker for power usage. Public Service of New Hampshire also predicted customers in the Granite State would surpass the record for peak power demand.

PSNH spokesman Martin Murray said the company's record demand of 2,122 megawatts was set on July 27, 2005. He said Monday's peak power demand was 2,120 megawatts, the second-highest recording.

Murray said Tuesday's numbers would not be known until today, but he expected the continued heat and humidity would cause the record to be broken.

State Climatologist David Brown said Tuesday was the hottest day of the year so far, with 90-degree temperatures across the state.

"This is the real first heat wave we've had in the state in the past two years," Brown said.

The heat, however, didn't break local records. The highest temperature in Portsmouth for July 18 was 98 degrees in 1998, according to Brown. The hottest temperature ever recorded in New Hampshire was 106 degrees on July 4, 1911, in Nashua.

Given that temperatures weren't extreme, Murray said he thought the record power demand was not because customers were using their air cond itioners more than past summers; it was because more people now have air conditioners.

"Now they sell (small) air conditioners for $100. People say, Ñ’Well, I can afford that,'" Murray said.

"We have evolved as a region that used most of its energy in the wintertime to a region that has peak usage in the summer," he continued. "That's a relatively recent phenomenon over last 10 years. I think it's because, as a society, we want to retain those creature comforts; we want to work and live in a cool, air-conditioned environment."

Luckily, Murray said, utility companies in the region have been able to keep up with this latest demand for power. New England power plants collectively produce between 30,000 and 33,000 megawatts of power, Murray said. Tuesday's predicted energy record for the New England was expected to surpass 27,000 megawatts.