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Politics : Rat's Nest - Chronicles of Collapse -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (1200)	7/23/2005 8:55:22 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Respond to of 24214

Electricity Demand Breaks a Record, Ameren Says Jul. 22--Ameren Corp. said demand for power in Missouri and part of its Illinois service area hit a record Thursday, as temperatures neared triple digits, prompting customers to stay inside and run air conditioners harder. The St. Louis-based utilities company serves 2.3 million customers in the two states. AmerenUE is urging customers to conserve electricity, not because of the strain on the company's power plants, but to avoid sticker shock when August bills arrive, said spokeswoman Susan Gallagher. Demand Thursday across the AmerenUE service area in Missouri and AmerenCIPS territory in western Illinois hit a record 12,680 megawatts, she said. The figure doesn't include Illinois Power accounts, acquired by the St. Louis-based utility last year. The organization that manages the region's power grid, the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, issued a report in May showing more-than-adequate generation capacity to meet an expected peak of 114,479 megawatts. One megawatt is enough to light about 900 homes. So far, the peak for the organization, which covers 1 million square miles in 15 states and part of Manitoba, Canada, was about 109,000 megawatts on June 27, spokesman Gary Rasp said. The organization, based in Carmel, Ill., has more than 135,000 megawatts of generating capacity, meaning there's adequate reserve power in case temperatures and demand are higher than expected or there's a plant outage. While Missouri has rules in place prohibiting utilities from disconnecting customers' natural gas service when temperatures dip below freezing, there's no rule to prevent electric companies from cutting off power during hot weather. That issue was again considered by a Missouri task force assembled last year to look at energy costs. But no action was recommended, in part because utilities have their own policies to prohibit disconnecting power during searing heat. Gallagher said Ameren won't cut off power on hot days like Thursday, but declined to provide a specific temperature threshold. rednova.com