APS, SRP have plenty of power for hot days ahead
Aug 10, 2012, 6:29 AM | Updated: 6:29 am
PHOENIX — Friday could be the hottest day of 2012 and both of the Valley’s energy providers said they have plenty of power in the bank to keep the air conditioners running.
SRP set a record Wednesday for the highest customer power demand, and APS came up just short of a new record for demand.
“As we have higher need, we bring in more power off the open market and we plan for that,” said Jeff Lane with SRP.
Lane said Mother Nature is always the wild card that could put a strain on the power supply with a severe monsoon storm or a wildfire near transmission lines.
John Lucas, director of power operations and maintenance for APS, said it has a good supply of electricity on hand and there is no need for customers to make cutbacks on electricity because of the heat.
Lucas will be keeping a close eye on demand, from what is essentially a war room at a north Phoenix operations center.
“We expect high demand Friday and see no problems in meeting customer demand,” he said. “We monitor the transmission and distribution systems and act accordingly if we need additional generation.”
Both APS and SRP can tap power sources outside of the state if the demand is great enough.
SRP said the Valley’s four million residents will gobble up more power on Friday than New York City’s eight million residents.