Extreme heat and humidity spur record-breaking energy use for summer
Extreme heat pushed Tampa Electric customers to use record amounts of energy this week.
At 4:49 p.m. Tuesday, customers set a new record for summer electricity use – the highest amount of electricity used at any one moment – with 4,428 megawatts (MW). That surpassed the previous hourly record of 4,373 MW, which was set July 5, 2016.
“Rest assured, Tampa Electric has enough electricity to meet demand during this week’s unusually hot weather,” said Nancy Tower, president and chief executive officer of Tampa Electric. “It is good to remember that this type of weather makes air conditioners work extra hard to keep you and your home or business cool.”
On Tuesday, the high in Tampa Bay was 98 degrees, which tied a record set in 1950, according to the National Weather Service. All that sun helped Tampa Electric’s solar plants produce 278 MW of electricity on that day – about 6 percent of the energy at the peak.
Concerned the high temperatures will cause a high energy bill? Tampa Electric offers more energy-saving programs than any other investor-owned utility in Florida. Learn more online at tampaelectric.com/save.
- Set your thermostat at 78 degrees or higher in the summer.
- Only use ceiling fans in occupied rooms. Fans cool people, not furniture.
- Lower the temperature setting on your water heater to 120 degrees.
- Clean or replace air conditioning filters each month. This helps the unit run more efficiently.
TECO's Budget Billing program takes the highs and lows out of monthly bills. This bill "leveling" program averages your last 12 monthly billing periods so you can pay the same amount for your service each month, despite seasonal variability.
Tampa Electric, one of Florida’s largest investor-owned electric utilities, serves about 765,000 customers in West Central Florida. Tampa Electric is a subsidiary of Emera Inc., a geographically diverse energy and services company headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
