Freezing weather equals higher electricity demand

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Valley Authority preliminary figures show demand for power at 8 a.m. EST on Tuesday reached the second highest winter peak in TVA history. According to the utility, preliminary power demand reached 32,490 megawatts as temperatures averaged 4 degrees across the TVA region. That is 82 megawatts less than the record winter demand set on Jan. 16, 2009, when temperatures averaged 9 degrees. The utility had asked local power companies to try to reduce power usage, but by late morning, demand was decreasing and TVA was no longer requesting conservation measures from customers. By late afternoon, TVA had also discontinued in-house conservation measures as well. TVA is the nation's largest public utility, supplying power to about 9 million people in Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.