Knoxville, Tenn.–Multiple records were set Friday and Saturday during the arctic blast that swept through our area and the rest of Tennessee, according to the Tennessee Valley Authority.
The TVA said two records were set on Friday:
–The highest-ever 24 hour electricity demand in TVA history;
–The highest-ever winter peak power demand.
TVA said it supplied around 740 gigawatt-hours Friday and hit its highest winter peak power demand at 7 p.m. (Central Time) when electricity use rose to 33.425 megawatts.
On Saturday, the highest-ever weekend peak power demand was set at 1 a.m., according to the TVA.
In a message posted on Facebook, TVA officials said, “Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we managed record-setting power demand over the weekend. We are grateful for our 153 local power company partners, large customers and communities as we worked together to ensure a stable power grid for us all.”
The TVA previously said that usually in December, demand reaches around 24,000 megawatts. On Dec. 23, TVA said power demands got so high that they activated prepared plans to temporarily reduce power loads, working directly with local power companies, resulting in rolling blackouts.