Xcel Energy came close to breaking usage record thanks to heat wave

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RED WING, Minn. -- Xcel Energy came close to breaking its single-day 9,544 megawatt usage record for its service area this week as people, businesses and industries fired up air conditioners. Despite temperatures approaching 100 degrees on several days, the energy record from July 20, 2011, stands.

The utility serves parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and western Wisconsin. The closest the utility, came to the record was a demand for just under 9,500 mw at one point Monday, according to unofficial records.

Xcel regional vice president Laura McCarten on Tuesday predicted that the timely Fourth of July holiday the next day would prevent breaking the record because factories closed.

The utility was prepared to handle the recent heat wave, McCarten said. Crews were on standby to address equipment failures and had plants ready for full production.

The spring and autumn peaks are 50 percent lower than the summer demand, McCarten added.

“That’s when we will fire up oil plants for a few hours,” she said. “We also do not schedule any maintenance that’s discretionary.”

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