All-Time Peaks Set This Summer
Three all-time peak records were broken by Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc.'s (AECI) system this summer as sweltering heat passed through the midwest during June and July.
Prior to this summer, the all-time peak had been 3,708 megawatts set on Aug. 21, 2003. A new record was set on Wednesday, June 29 when Associated's systems reached a peak of 3,743 MW.
AECI is the wholesale power supplier for Access Energy Cooperative members. Access Energy Cooperative is one of 51 distribution cooperatives in southern Iowa, Missouri and Oklahoma that collectively own the eight transmission cooperatives that own AECI.
As temperatures soared again in July, a new peak of 3,806 MW was set at 6 p.m. on July 21. The following day, temperatures averaged 100 degrees, driving member load to yet another all-time peak of 4,000 MW.
This new all-time peak is evidence of the continued growth on Access Energy Cooperative's system and AECI's system as a whole, and reinforces the planning efforts currently underway to build a new coal-based power plant with completion expected by 2012.
While the new power plant will be an expensive investment and is a large part of the reason for the wholesale power rate increase anticipated for next year, this summer's record breaking peaks are evidence that it is needed to meet the future load growth expected by Access Energy Cooperative and AECI.