Duke Energy customers set record usage
Duke Energy customers in the Carolinas set an all-time record for power usage Wednesday morning when temperatures were down in the teens.
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Between 7 and 8 a.m., Duke customers used 17,570 megawatts of energy. That broke the record set Jan. 11, 2010, at 17,282 megawatts.
In Raleigh, Wednesday saw a low of 16 degrees and high of 37 degrees – about 17 degrees below normal. So far, it's been the coldest December on record at Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
"During a similar cold snap last year, the average residential customer saw a 30 percent increase in his or her power bill. We could see a similar trend this season," Gianna Manes, Duke Energy's chief customer officer, said in a statement. "We often forget that when the temperatures drop, our heating systems work harder and longer to maintain the comfort level in our homes."
About half of a household's energy use is consumed in heating and cooling, according to Duke Energy.
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