Duke Energy customers set new record for winter peak energy use

Duke Energy Indiana customers set a new all-time winter peak record for energy usage on Tuesday, Jan. 2. Duke Energy Indiana serves approximately 820,000 households and businesses in parts of 69 counties.

The unofficial winter peak record is now 7,281 megawatt-hours in the hour ending at 9 a.m., which beat the previous record set on Jan. 6, 2014, when customers used 7,214 megawatt-hours.

“Last week was bitterly cold in Indiana, and our team worked around-the-clock to make sure we were prepared to meet our customers’ energy needs,” said Nelson Peeler, senior vice president and chief transmission officer. “Extreme temperatures drive record usage since the majority of the energy we use as consumers is for heating or cooling our homes and businesses. Our system performed well during this time frame when we know our customers count on us most.”

Duke Energy system operators closely monitored the electric system as temperatures dove well below zero degrees at times last week and helped ensure the company had an adequate supply of electricity to meet energy demand.

Cold weather can cause energy usage to spike, and it is a good time for customers to use energy more efficiently to manage their bills and help ensure reliability of the electric grid. Click here for tips for saving on your winter heating bill.

About Duke Energy Indiana

Duke Energy Indiana’s operations provide about 6,800 megawatts of owned electric capacity to approximately 820,000 customers in a 23,000-square-mile service area, making it the state’s largest electric supplier.

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is one of the largest energy holding companies in the United States. Its Electric Utilities and Infrastructure business unit serves approximately 7.5 million customers located in six states in the Southeast and Midwest. The company’s Gas Utilities and Infrastructure business unit distributes natural gas to approximately 1.6 million customers in the Carolinas, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. Its Commercial Renewables business unit operates a growing renewable energy portfolio across the United States.

More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com.