With temperatures tonight projected to dip into the teens again across the Tennessee Valley, TVA is forecasting its highest cold weather power consumption in nearly two years on Tuesday morning.
TVA spokesman Mike Bradley said the agency expects electricity users to demand 31,400 megawatts of power when overnight temperatures across the 7-state region dip to a predicted 17 degrees early Tuesday. That would be the highest power demand for TVA during the winter since January 2009, when temperatures fell to an average 16 degrees Fahrenheit, Bradley said.
Early today, the average temperature in the five major cities in the Tennessee Valley Authority service region fell to 18 degrees, and TVA customers pushed up power demand to 29,800 megawatts about 8 a.m., even with most schools and some businesses closed or opening later.
Bradley said TVA had no problems meeting the demand, and the federal utility should be able to fully meet the peak on Tuesday.
For complete weather coverage, check back at timesfreepress.com and see tomorrow’s Chattanooga Times Free Press.