Cold snap increases energy use in Upstate

Upstate energy providers Duke Energy and Greer CPW said the recent cold snap in the region led to increase peak usage.

Duke Energy Carolinas customers set a new peak record for energy usage on Friday, Jan. 5, according to the company, which serves 2.5 million households and businesses in central and western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina.

The unofficial peak record is now 21,623 megawatt-hours in the hour ending at 8 a.m., which beat the previous record set on Feb. 20, 2015, when customers used 21,101 megawatt-hours, according to a news release.

“Last week was bitterly cold in the Carolinas, and our team worked around-the-clock to make sure we were prepared to meet our customers’ energy needs,” said Nelson Peeler, Duke Energy senior vice president and chief transmission officer, in the release.

Greer CPW said that Tuesday, Jan. 2, between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m., the company’s total system demand was 75,962 megawatt-hours, nearly beating the peak of 76,590 megawatt-hours set on Jan. 7, 2014 during a previous cold winter freeze.

Greer CPW, in a news release, encouraged customers to conserve energy and prepare for higher than normal electric bills in January.