The extremely hot weather calls for cranking up the air conditioner, which is exactly what Phoenix-area residents did last weekend.
Salt River Project said the demand for electricity on June 5, 2016, set a high for this year at 6,310 megawatts. Scott Harelson with SRP said what’s unusual about last weekend’s demand is that the peak was on a Sunday.
“Typically, we set records for energy demand on weekdays because on weekends here in the Valley, folks tend to want to leave town and get away from the heat,” Harelson said. “Plus, you don’t have as many businesses open on Saturdays or Sundays.”
Harelson said they expect to exceed last week’s demand figure soon due to increasing temperatures and the start of monsoon season. The all-time electricity demand for SRP was set in August 2015 at 6,800 megawatts. One megawatt can power roughly 200 to 250 Phoenix homes.