Heat drives record electric use
Staff writer
If you’re sick of the heat, wait until you see your electricity bill.
With temperatures hovering around 100 degrees all month, electricity use was up about 11 percent in Marion and 16 percent in July compared with 2010, and Westar Energy experienced record-setting demand July 27.
The total energy consumption for July in Marion was 2,484,760 kilowatt-hours.
That is an increase of about 11 percent from July 2010, when customers used 2,212,675 kilowatt-hours, City Administrator Doug Kjellin said.
At a rate of 10.3 cents per kilowatt-hour, the extra 272,000 kilowatt-hours used will cost residents a total of $28,025 on their utility bills.
The highest single-day use was 104,750 kilowatt-hours, Kjellin said.
Hillsboro’s total electricity consumption was 3,455,069 kilowatt-hours, up about 16 percent from July 2010, when customers used 2,981,464 kilowatt-hours. The highest electricity demand during the month was at 3:45 p.m. July 27 when customers were using 6,788 kilowatts, City Administrator Larry Paine said.
With a rate of 9.96 cents per kilowatt-hour, Hillsboro customers will spend an additional $47,171 on their July electricity bills, which were delivered Monday.
Westar Energy set a system-wide record for electric use July 27, with a peak use of 5,563 megawatts, an increase of 1.6 percent from the previous record.
Westar attributed the record use to increased demand for air-conditioning in the heat of the summer.