As most of the nation suffered under 90-100 degree heat last week, all seven of the nation’s regional electric transmission grid operators reported record power demand on their systems. On Thursday the ISO-RTO Council, which represents the seven grid operators, reported a new record of aggregated peak power usage of 483,233 MW, up 1.6% from the previous record of 475,717 set last summer.

Peak demands reached in areas with independent system operators (ISO) and regional transmission organizations (RTO) ranged from 0.9% to 4.5% higher than the peak levels reached in 2005, the council said. The seven ISOs and RTOs serve about two-thirds of the U.S. population.

Temperatures soared into the triple digits in many locations coast to coast. On July 17, the National Weather Service released heat advisories in at least 18 states and the District of Columbia. Although some operators called for conservation measures, reserve margins remained adequate, the council said.

The following records were set last week:

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