Modesto, Turlock districts set records for demand for power as temperatures soar
The Modesto and Turlock irrigation districts, which provide electricity to nearly all of Stanislaus County, both reported setting records for peak demand Tuesday as the region continues to wither in a prolonged heat wave.
Those were not the only records set.
The National Weather Service reported Modesto reached a daytime high of 112 degrees Tuesday, making it the hottest Sept. 6 on record and breaking the previous record of 106 set on Sept. 6, 2020.
Tuesday’s temperature came close to tying the record high of 113 degrees for any date in Modesto. That record was set July 23 and July 24, 2006.
The National Weather Service forecast calls for daytime highs of 105 to 109 degrees Wednesday through Friday, with nighttime lows of 76 to 80 degrees. The National Weather Service has had Modesto under an excessive heat warning since Sunday. The warning is expected to end at 8 p.m. Friday.
MID Public Affairs Manager Melissa Williams said in an email that her utility district on Tuesday hit a record-high peak demand of 760 megawatts. “Our power load was more than 700 MW for about five hours,” she wrote. “We’re forecasting over 700 MW demand for today and Thursday as well.
“We appreciate our customers’ conservation efforts during this heat wave and especially yesterday ... . While we successfully made it through yesterday with minimal power issues, we encourage everyone to please continue to do their best to conserve across peak hours to avoid power outages or the need for rolling blackouts this week.”
TID reported setting a record Tuesday for peak demand, with 735 megawatts at 5:37 p.m. That was about 40 megawatts above the previous record.
“Due to careful planning, the district owns or had procured enough generation resources to meet the increased demand,” TID spokesman Brandon McMillan said in an email Wednesday. “Due to the record heat, especially after multiple consecutive days of excessive heat, we experienced some localized outages throughout our service area. The outages were restored quickly.”
The isolated power failures on Tuesday included one affecting Ceres, Keyes and Hughson, another one west of Keyes and a third in west Turlock. MID also reported a handful of isolated power failures during the heat wave.
The spokespeople for both districts thanked customers for conserving and asked them to keep it up. More information, including conservation tips and how to report a power failure, is available at mid.org and tid.org.
Modesto should get a break from the heat by the weekend.
The National Weather Service said Saturday should have a high of 97 and a low of 71. Sunday is expected to have a high of 88 and a low of 70. Modesto’s normal temperatures this time of the year are daytime highs of 91 or 92 with overnight lows of 60 or 61, according to the weather service.
