Electricity usage sets N.Y. record

By 4 p.m., customers in New York City and Westchester County had hit an all-time peak, consuming 12,361 megawatts, enough electricity to simultaneously power 12.36 million homes.

Statewide, power customers also outdid themselves - using 31,741 megawatts, enough electricity to power nearly 32 million homes, according to the New York Independent System Operator organization.

Power company officials attributed the surge to residents pumping up their air conditioners to cope with temperatures reaching into the 90s.

Users broke the records despite a New York Power Authority program geared at reducing the city's consumption. The agency pays the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Citibank and others a total of more than $2.4 million to reduce their usage on scattered days throughout the summer.

The previous records for the city and the state were set on Aug. 9, 2001, when Con Edison customers consumed a peak of 12,207 megawatts.