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HEAT ALERT: Power companies ready to respond as people crank up the air conditioning

How are power companies keeping up with the surge to stay cool, as many people crank up the air conditioning during the hottest day of the heat wave?

News 12 Staff

Jul 21, 2022, 4:22 PM

Updated 940 days ago

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How are power companies keeping up with the surge to stay cool as people crank up the air conditioning during the hottest day of the heat wave? PSE&G says crews are at the ready should any systems go down.
"We went into storm mode essentially; we already have on hand all the materials, we need to respond to any outages that are associated with extreme heat," says spokesperson Rebecca Mazzarella.
It gets especially hot in cities during heat waves. The National Weather Service says that's because the dark pavement and tall buildings absorb heat and can hold onto it well after the sun goes down.
To save money and make sure systems don't get overwhelmed, Mazzarella says to turn the AC up to the highest comfortable temperature.
"We recommend 78, we know that's a bit high for some people, but to save some money, if customers can raise it even just one degree, they could see a savings of 3-5% off the use of that appliance,” says Mazzarella.
Crews will be on standby to make sure people have reliable access to their AC.