There's a heat advisory in place until Wednesday night, and with demand for electricity reaching near record highs, AEP Ohio is asking customers to conserve energy.
"We have already asked our large commercial and industrial customers," said Matt Bennett, director of operations for AEP Ohio.
PJM is the regional grid operator that manages supply and demand of the energy over AEP's transmission lines. WOSU has asked PJM for an interview, but the company said in a statement it has "sufficient" reserves to meet demand.
"PJM is working with its generation and transmission owners to manage grid conditions through the ongoing heat wave and we have sufficient reserves to meet forecasted customer demand," the statement reads.
But, PJM stated demand on the system on Monday was the highest it's been since 2011.
"Electricity demand came in at approximately 161,000 MW on Monday with a consistent demand projection for today (Tuesday). Yesterday’s peak was the highest demand total recorded on the PJM system since 2011. PJM’s record summer peak load was set at 165,563 MW in 2006. For reference, one megawatt can power about 800 homes," the statement reads.
WOSU has asked PJM for information about their expected supply of megawatts and is waiting for a response.
Bennett said their concerns over supply and demand is why AEP Ohio is working with PJM and asking customers to moderate their use.
"So we work really closely with PJM, you know, as the weather temperatures have went up, the demand on the system has increased, right? Everybody's using more electricity, so there needs to be more supply. So this week's really a supply and demand issue, and we work very closely with PGM to ensure that the energy is flowing for our customers," Bennett said.
The company would like residential customers to conserve energy between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
"Every little bit helps. So just turning up your thermostat a couple degrees. You know, we at AEP Ohio, we recommend 78 degrees. We really want you to make the decision for you and your family on what makes sense from a safe and comfortable place. And I know 78 degrees sounds like a lot, a very high temperature, right? First time I ever heard that, 'there's no way I'm turning my thermostat to 78 degrees.' But I just kept bumping it a couple degrees and trying it out," Bennett said.
He said a counter-clockwise fan helps keep it cool.
Bennett said small things will be helpful on a large scale.
"Part of that conserving energy is the little things, not using your stove or your dishwasher or your dryer, because those are large heat-emitting appliances, which then means your AC is gonna have to work harder to cool the house," he said.
He said it's also helpful to avoid charging electric vehicles between peak hours, to shut curtains or blinds and to turn off lights. Bennett said he doesn't expect a replay of the selective outages central Ohio saw in 2022, because that heatwave was accompanied by extreme, long-lasting storms that damaged transmission equipment around the region.
Bennett said the system is bolstered.
"Our crews are always out in the neighborhoods working to improve the reliability, resilience of the system, doing routine maintenance. And our equipment is designed to work in all types of weather, including this extreme heat," Bennett said.
In April, AEP Ohio released an annual report to state regulators detailing how reliable the utility was in 2024.
The report details how many power outages customers experience and how long those power outages last.
Customers in AEP Ohio’s system experienced about one outage last year. The company met that metric.
But, the average amount of time an AEP Ohio customer's outage lasted was longer than the standards set by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. Outages should have averaged 148 minutes or less, but they lasted nearly 100 minutes longer than that. Even excluding major weather events, the company's outages were still 10 minutes longer per outage than regulators wanted.
PJM warned earlier this year that the demands of the grid were rising higher than supply.
