The Tennessee Valley Authority is preparing for its highest summertime peak power demand in nearly a decade on Thursday when high temperatures across the utility's 7-state region are forecast to rise to the highest levels so far this summer.
Temperatures in Chattanooga are expected to reach a sweltering 97 degrees or more Fahrenheit on Thursday afternoon, pushing up electricity consumption for TVA to about 30,500 megawatts between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Thursday when air conditioners are running on high to keep homes, offices and factories cool. Power demand is expected to reach the highest summertime peak for TVA since July 2, 2012, but TVA officials said Tuesday they are ready to meet the demand.
Aaron Melda, senior vice president of power supply for TVA who oversees electricity distribution across the Tennessee Valley, is keeping his cool about the hot weather.
"I am pleased to say that we are positioned well to keep folks comfortable and the public safety at heart," Melda said Tuesday from the power control center in Chattanooga. "We've invested many dollars in both our generation and our transmission systems to ensure that we are ready for this kind of event."
TVA has dialed up the temperature in its own facilities and encouraged customers with power demand-sensitive contracts to limit their power usage during the heatwave. But Melda is barely breaking a sweat getting ready for the peak demand ahead. In fact, he's rather excited about the prospects.
"Frankly, we kind of think of this as our Super Bowl and our folks are excited about ensuring that we can keep the lights on and people comfortable over the next few days as we see this heat move across our system," he said.
Despite widespread power outages last winter in Texas during an unexpected cold snap, TVA officials say they are ready for this week's unusually hot weather. TVA's power load has been relatively flat over the past decade and the utility and its customers have added more solar, nuclear and gas generation in recent years to handle the load while TVA has cut back on its coal-fired generation.
TVA also benefits during peak demand periods by its 29 power-generating dams and its Raccoon Mountain Pumped Storage Facility which can be used to release water and generate power when it is most needed. So far in 2021, Chattanooga has received nearly 34.5 inches of rain, or nearly 2 inches more than normal, which TVA has been able to use through its network of dams on the Tennessee River to supply more than 10% of more of its entire power load.
TVA does not anticipate mandating any power cutbacks for its customers, including those with interruptible power contracts. But TVA is encouraging consumers not to wash their clothes or dishes or engage in excess power usage during the peak afternoon hours Thursday when temperatures are hottest and power demand rises to the highest levels.
To save electricity and keep power bills down during the heat wave, TVA suggests homeowners consider raising the temperature in their homes a few degrees, limiting long showers and making sure their doors and windows are kept shut.
Patrick Walshe, a TVA meteorologist and manager of resource operations and analysis, predicts the high temperatures across the entire Tennessee Valley region should average 96 degrees on Thursday. The National Weather Service is forecasting the hottest temperatures of the summer so far in the next few days before cooling down a bit this weekend.
"There's a ridge of high pressure across the central part of the country that is really allowing the hot air to build up and push up these temperatures," said Kyle Snowden, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Morristown, Tennessee.
Typically, the high daily temperature in late July in Chattanooga is 91 degrees Fahrenheit, Snowden said.
The projected peak demand for this week is still far below the all-time summertime peak TVA reached in the summer of 2007 when temperatures across the valley averaged 102 degrees and the peak demand jumped to 33,482 megawatts from heavy electricity consumption for air conditioners.
TVA's peak demand rose to 32,509 megawatts in January 2018 when temperatures fell to an average 14 degrees across the Valley and electric furnaces and heat pumps struggled to keep homes and offices warm.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6340