El Paso Electric power usage hits level not expected until 2029 because of heat wave

El Paso Electric has shattered power-consumption records four days in the last three weeks because of a monster heat wave gripping the region for over a month.

El Paso Electric officials didn't expect to hit the power peak levels this summer until 2029.

Besides the unprecedented weeks of triple-digit temperatures, the growth of refrigerated air conditioners in El Paso homes is a big reason for the increased power demand, Omar Gallegos, EPE vice president of transportation and distribution, said at a Friday press conference about the record electricity demand.

The company has avoided major power outages during the heat wave so far. However, just over 300 neighborhood power outages have occurred in the last four weeks, primarily because of power transformer failures, Gallegos said.

Just over half of the company's customers use refrigerated air, he said. For years, evaporated air conditioners, which use much less power, but consume water, were the main mode of air conditioning for El Paso homes.

The company has about 460,000 customers in West Texas and southern New Mexico.

The newest power peak record was set Wednesday when El Paso's temperature hit 111 degrees. Power consumption peaked at an unofficial 2,384 megawatts — 183 megawatts above the 2022 peak record of 2,201 megawatts, said David Hawkins, vice president of system operations and resource strategy.

That broke peak power records set June 30, July 10, and July 17. The peak usage usually occurs around 5 to 6 p.m., Hawkins said. In a typical summer, the company will have two peak power days, he said.

The company's power sources, including the Palo Verde nuclear plant in Arizona, currently produce up to 2,570 megawatts of electricity. Palo Verde accounts for 44.5% of the utility's electricity production.

One megawatt powers about 350 El Paso Electric homes in the summer, a company official said.

Even with the record power demand, the company's power system, including four local, natural gas-fired power plants, have held up well, Hawkins said.

However, the heat puts stress on the plants' generators and other equipment, Hawkins said after the company news conference.

Gallegos said the excessive heat and increased power demand also have caused neighborhood power transformers to fail. That's the main reason for 320 neighborhood power outages in the last four weeks, Gallegos said. That includes 55 Wednesday — the biggest single day of outages this summer, he said.

The number of outages tied to heat is greater than a typical summer, he said.

The company stocks up on transformers prior to the summer.

More: Heat-related emergencies more than triple as Borderland sizzles under high temperatures

Hawkins, who said summer is a stressful time for the company's executives and workforce, was looking forward to the weekend because the weather forecast called for temperatures at or just below 100 degrees Saturday and Sunday.

"As we're going to get a break a little bit from the (intense temperatures), we'll take some of our generators offline to do some short-term maintenance over the weekend and bring those back during the week," he said Friday.

That can be done because a drop of only a few degrees in temperatures lowers demand, Hawkins said.

El Paso's had a record 36 consecutive days of triple-digit temperatures, including Friday, when the high was 107 degrees, a record for July 20, the National Weather Service El Paso reported.

The utility was able to weather its biggest-demand day Wednesday even as two generators at two power plants were down for maintenance, Hawkins said. That was done, in part, by buying more power on the open market, he said.

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One of the generators at the Montana Power Station, in far East El Paso County, is scheduled to go back online Tuesday, he said.

The company supplements its own power sources with outside power purchases when needed.

Kelly Tomblin, El Paso Electric chief executive officer, said, "That (power consumption) peak is growing and growing and we're just going to build to that peak."

"We don't have an option but to build during this very hot time," she said.

EPE's newest project, a new generator at the Newman power plant in Northeast El Paso, is expected to go online in September after pandemic-related construction delays and cost overruns.

The company also plans to add more solar power in 2024 and 2025.

The company will get 9.2% of its power from solar projects when the new Buena Vista Energy Center solar plant, on the outskirts of Chaparral, New Mexico, near El Paso's Northeast city limits, is in full production, a company official has said.

Vic Kolenc may be reached at 915-546-6421, vkolenc@elpasotimes.com and @vickolenc on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso Electric breaks power-consumption records amid heat wave