Western interior regions from northeast Oregon to northeast New Mexico broiled in record-setting temperatures following the July 4 holiday, sending power utilities scrambling to keep loads balanced with aggressive supply and demand-dampening programs. Even traditional hot spots like Death Valley, CA, and Las Vegas broke their own records with 127- and 117-degree temperatures, respectively. Nevada and Idaho utilities set all-time peak demand records.

In Nevada, new one-day peak demand power records were set by both of Sierra Pacific Resources’ utilities. Las Vegas-based Nevada Power Co. reached a peak of 5,866 MW, shattering the previous record set July 17 last year (5,618 MW), and Reno, NV-based Sierra Pacific Power Co reached 1,742 MW, slightly more than its previous one-day record of 1,740 MW set July 18, 2005.

Serving nearly 1.2 million customers collectively, the two Sierra Pacific Resources’ utilities coped reasonably well with the record heat throughout the state, reporting only scattered outages. For Nevada Power, the extreme heat last Thursday resulted in “small pockets of outages, but only about 1,000 in total out of 807,000 customers,” said a utility spokesperson in Las Vegas, who said there were also the expected “blown transformers and failed equipment” due to the heat.

Idaho Power Co. also set a new peak record last Thursday of 3,120 MW, eclipsing the old record set July 21 last year (3,084 MW). A Boise-based utility spokesperson said another new record was likely to be set last Friday.

California overall did not reach the widespread high temperatures that had been forecast as the onshore flow from the Pacific kept the coast and close-in valley regions reasonably cool. Everywhere it seemed that states were gearing up for near-record power demand and for dealing with excessive heat-related public health concerns.

National Weather Service reports said temperatures reached 107 and 106 in Hermiston and Pendleton, respectively, in northeast Oregon. Boise, ID’s high hit 103 with 107 forecast for last Friday. The heat wave was expected to continue throughout the West.

Spokane, WA, recorded 100-degree temperatures last Thursday, and across the river Coeur d’Alene, ID, hit 99, short of the forecast 102 that would have broken the previous record there, 100 degrees on the same date in 1975. Phoenix and St. George, UT, both hit 115 degrees.

A Spokane, WA-based Avista Utilities spokesperson said Friday that the usually winter-peaking utility was not approaching any one-day records for its electricity operations in eastern Washington state and northern Idaho. “We’re in good shape, and prices have stayed down, so we aren’t having any problem meeting our loads,” the spokesperson said.

In Phoenix, an Arizona Public Service Co. (APS) spokesperson said demand was the highest for the year last Thursday, peaking at 7,542 MW, but it was shy of the utility’s all-time one-day peak set last July (7,652 MW).

All across the West over the Fourth of July holiday, state and utility officials urged consumers to lower their power intake as thermometers blasted into triple digits from California’s inland desert and valley regions to Boise. Following California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s directive, state agencies activated heat wave responses, including the opening of 17 community cooling centers in the hottest areas of central and southern California.

In Boise, Idaho Power Co. referenced “record high temperatures across the West” in urging customers to practice energy conservation between the typical summer peak demand hours of 4 and 8 p.m. The utility assured customers that while low stream flows this year had reduced its hydroelectric supplies, the state’s largest power utility can “access additional energy supplies to help meet customer demand.” It warned, however, those supplies come with “extremely high prices.”

The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) hit a peak demand of 44,775 MW last Thursday, just short of its forecast peak of 44,972 MW, but it was expecting that to drop slightly last Friday, projecting a 44,154 MW peak. A spokesperson for the state grid operator said it was unlikely that any alerts would have to be called because of the heat, meaning reserve margins look adequate, but conservation is being advised.

Last Tuesday, CAISO issued a conservation alert following an early morning series of power plant outages resulting from power lines being clipped by a small plane in north San Diego County. At that Juncture, CAISO predicted relatively high demand for the holiday (44,000 MW) and a ramp-up to 47,000 MW last Thursday, but those numbers never materialized.

Schwarzenegger last Tuesday was preparing for “prolonged high temperatures,” but weather forecasts for last Wednesday began to call for a cooling trend as the onshore flows throughout the state picked up to drive more cool air farther inland. Nevertheless, the governor wanted the state to be ready to open so-called “cooling centers” in 13 counties if necessary.

Last year late in July all of the major private- and public-sector utilities shattered their all-time peak-demand records multiple times.

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