January 16th 2024
TVA is projecting that they will exceed their all-time high power demand on Wednesday morning around 9:00 am by approximately 7% to 8%. They expect to initially break the existing all-time peak system demand this evening around 9:00 pm.
Last December’s bitter cold temperatures in the single digits across the south set an all time high of 740 million kilowatt-hours. Kilowatt-hours are a measure of how much energy is consumed. For instance, if you turn on a 100 watt bulb, it would take 10 hours to use a one kilowatt-hour of power. Other examples would be running a dishwasher for one hour or watching TV for fifty hours. A washing machine uses about 2.3 kilowatt-hours per load, a clothes dryer between 2.5 and 4 kilowatt-hours per load.
TVA is not expecting or planning on having any rolling blackouts, they acknowledge that their system will be stressed and any unexpected generation losses could change their position. They are asking customers to keep this in mind and apply any possible conservation efforts from this evening through 11:00 am Wednesday.
This would include reducing your thermostats to 68 degrees, avoiding laundry and things that utilize hot water as much as possible, and utilizing as few lights as possible.
Small efforts spread across many customers can make a significant impact and minimize the possibility of any possible blackouts.
The website ElectrictyPlans.com says that each item in your home will use a different amount of power. But if you want to know what 1 kWh can power, here are some examples:
- Running a dishwasher (1,000 watts): 1 hour
- Watching a 50″ LED TV (50 watts): 20 hours
- Cooking in the oven (2000 Watts): 30 minutes
- Running the refrigerator (300 Watts): 3 hours
- Using a Playstation 4 (150 Watts): 6.66 hours
Obviously, every appliance in your home will use a different amount of power. And instead of looking at what you can do with a single kWh, it makes more sense to look at how much your appliances use under normal usage. Here are examples of the number of kilowatt-hours common household items use:
- 50″ LED Television: around 0.016 kWh per hour
- Electric dishwashers: around 2 kWh per load
- Electric water heater: 380-500 kWh per month
- Refrigerator (24 cu. ft frost free Energy Star): 54 kWh per month
- Clothes Washer (warm wash, cold rinse): 2.3 kWh per load
- Clothes Dryer: 2.5 – 4.0 kWh per load
- Air Conditioner (3 ton 12 SEER): 3.0 kWh per hour
- Nissan Leaf Electric Car – 40 kWh per full battery charge
