FRANKFORT, KY – This week’s high temperatures have been reflected on more than just thermometers – they have also been reflected in the amount of electricity customers have demanded to keep cool.
 
Kentucky Power customers set three consecutive summer peak records this week. On Monday, July 31, at around 3 p.m., Kentucky Power customers demanded a record 1,362 megawatts of electricity. On Tuesday, Aug. 1, that record was broken when customers used 1,372 megawatts at around 5 p.m. Customers demanded still more electricity Wednesday, Aug. 2, when they consumed 1,388 megawatts of electricity around 3 p.m. A megawatt of electricity is equivalent to 1 million watts.
 
Traditionally a "winter peaking" company, Kentucky Power’s all-time demand peak was recorded Jan. 24, 2005 when customer usage reached 1,685 megawatts around 8 a.m.
 
The company noted that all demand peaks are preliminary and subject to verification when additional metering information is available. However, given the magnitude of the increased demand, it is unlikely that the numbers will vary significantly.
 
Kentucky Power provides electricity to approximately 175,000 customers in all or parts of 20 Eastern Kentucky counties. It is a unit of American Electric Power.
 
American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 36,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 765 kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined.  AEP’s utility units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). American Electric Power, based in Columbus, Ohio, is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2006.
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