ISO-New England reports that for the first time since 1983, before air conditioning really took off in New England, the region saw its annual peak occur outside the three summer months: Consumer demand for electricity reached 24,016 MW on September 7, a reflection of the “weird” warmth we’ve seen this fall.
Weather just isn’t “normal” any more.
Note, by the way, that this peak was two Seabrook Station nuke plant’s s worth of power less than average peak between 1990 and 2010 – an indication of how much more efficient our usage of power has gotten. We waste less so we need less!
Another interesting twist: “Smoke from Canada infiltrated New England, significantly diminishing the region’s solar power production. The haze also resulted in lower temperatures than what weather models forecasted, and the cooler weather led to lower consumer demand.”
Full details are here in ISO-NE’s Summer 2023 Recap.
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