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Cold Snap Pushed Progress Energy Plants Close To Limit

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By RUSSELL RAY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 10, 2009

TAMPA - Power plants operated by Progress Energy were pushed close to their limits last week as demand for electricity reached an all-time high, the utility said today.

Customers turned up their thermostats Thursday and Friday as temperatures plunged below freezing.

Demand peaked Friday morning as customers used 10,276 megawatt-hours of power between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. The previous one-hour record was 10,131 megawatt-hours set Jan. 24, 2003.

The record demand demonstrates a need to build two 1,105-megawatt nuclear reactors on a 5,100-acre site in Levy County, said Jeff Lyash, president and chief executive officer of Progress Energy Florida.

Together, the reactors could generate enough power for more than 1 million Florida homes. The project is awaiting approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

"This record-setting customer energy demand – even in the middle of a recession – highlights the importance of having a balanced strategy for meeting energy needs with clean, reliable and affordable power," Lyash said in a statement.

Progress Energy can generate more than 9,300 megawatts of power from plants it owns and operates. The utility is Central Florida's largest power provider, serving nearly 1.7 million customers.

Reporter Russell Ray can be reached at (813) 259-7870 or rray@tampatrib.com.

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