Power grids are holding up during record-breaking heat

Power grid coping with historic heat in Tampa Bay

FOX 13's Evan Axelbank explains how the power grid is coping with the intense heat in the Tampa Bay area.

TAMPA - Customers often make the key mistake of setting the thermostat more than twenty degrees lower than the outside temperature.

"Usually about a third of a customer's bill is attributed to AC," said Aly Raschid of Duke Energy.

Once it's that low, it takes a disproportionate amount of power for each degree cooler.

"We encourage our customers to turn their ACs up to the highest temperature possible where they can still be safe, and they're still comfortable," she said.

The stress on the power grid depends not only on temperature, but also on cloud cover and whether storms roll through. 

The backstory:

So far, grids that saw more than half their customers lose power during Hurricane Milton - and that were repaired in the weeks after - are holding up well.

On Monday, TECO had only several dozen without power, and none were impacted by increased demand.

"Everything is stable, our planners prepare for days just like this," said Chip Whitworth of TECO. "Utility companies across the state plan for days like this."

READ: How hot will the Tampa Bay area get this week after record-breaking Sunday?

When storms roll through and cause either a downed line or a lightning strike on the grid, Duke says their self-healing technology, where power distribution can be rerouted to impacted homes while minimizing restoration time, is critical all summer.

"All year round, we are preparing for storm season," said Raschid. "It's not just leading up to hurricane season. We have crews out there at all times, hardening our grid."

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