August 28, 2002—PJM Interconnection, the electricity grid operator for more than 25 million people in seven Mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia, reports customers set a peak demand of about 64,300 megawatts of electricity on Aug. 14—a new all-time record for the area.
The previous record peak was 64,035 megawatts set on July 29. Since the beginning of July, recurring high heat and humidity frequently have driven electricity use to record levels. Temperatures in much of the PJM region have been in the nineties on twenty-six of the last forty-five days.
PJM reminds customers to continue prudent use of electricity particularly during the peak use hours between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
