Electric utilities in Michigan are expecting to see a big spike in demand today, as temperatures are expected to climb to 100 degrees in parts of Michigan.
It’s just a part of summer; as temperatures rise so does demand for electricity.
Jeff Holyfield is a spokesman with Consumers Energy. He says they’ve been watching for the past few days as a dome of extremely warm air has been rolling out of the Plains and into the Great Lakes region.
“My wife asked me last night ‘It’s going to get hot. Are you guys going to be OK?’. I said, ‘absolutely’,” says Holyfield. “We know hot weather is going to come. We plan for it. We prepare our plants and our distribution system to meet the needs of our customers. We’re ready for this hot spell.”
Adding to Consumers Energy’s challenges today, the utility is not getting electricity from the Palisades nuclear power plant, because it remains offline for repairs. Holyfield says there is excess power generation available in the region to fill the need.
He suggests utility customers put off doing laundry or baking until this evening, when temperatures begin to cool.
Holyfield says your air conditioning unit won’t have to work as hard to keep your home or apartment cool.
