Every spring, the term “peak load” is employed with greater frequency at Con Edison, as analysts and engineers project the public’s demand for power in the summer. This year, they predict a peak at 12,570 megawatts — well below the record at 13,322 megawatts, which occurred at 5 p.m. on July 19, 2013.
Despite not having neared that record in recent years, Con Edison is prepared for this summer’s heat: the company spent $1.75 billion on upgrades to its electric delivery system. The investment added new cable, transformers, network protectors, switches and other components. (Specifically, crews installed 44 new network transformers,110 overhead transformers, 125 sections of underground cable, 181 spans of overhead wire and 68 utility poles in preparation for the summer).
