August 10, 2000

TVA Has All-Time Record On Power Demand Wednesday

TVA met an all-time high demand for electricity during Wednesday's heat and humidity.

Officials said power demand reached 28,970 megawatts.

The record was set at 5 p.m. CDT as average temperatures across the Tennessee Valley reached 95 degrees.

The previous highest power demand was 28,295 megawatts on July 30, 1999.

"The people of TVA and our distributor customers are to be commended for their dedicated work under extreme temperatures to meet the record power demand," Chairman Crowell said on behalf of the TVA Board.

"TVA's power plants and transmission system continue to set performance records while meeting the growing demand for electric power in the Tennessee Valley."

TVA completed construction this spring of eight new gas turbines, with 680 megawatts of capacity, to help meet the peak power demand this summer. TVA also added new power lines and equipment to the transmission system. Additional gas turbines are planned for 2001 and 2002.

Power demand in the TVA region is growing at nearly three percent annually.

Power demand is expected to remain high until temperatures moderate across the Valley.

http://www.chattanoogan.com/sections/news/index.asp#TVA

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), August 10, 2000