Record heat, record energy use

This week's record heat has also meant record energy use, with A/C around the area cranked (and apparently becoming more popular as well).

PSE customers set a new record for summertime energy use, with maximum demand reaching 3508 MW on Wednesday afternoon as temperatures at SeaTac hit their all-time record of 103 degrees. This exceede the old summertime record of 3228 MW set on a 98 degree day in the summer of 2007.

In contrast, our all-time record is 4906 MW set last December during our big winter cold and snow -- which shows that we still have more furnaces around here than air conditioners, but not by much.

From our previous 2007 summer record until our new record set this week, the temperature rose by about 5 percent (98 degrees vs. 103 degrees) but energy use rose by more than 8 percent (3228 MW to 3508 MW).

To me, that means that while we still do have more furnaces than air conditioners, the A/C is catching up quickly.