Tennessee Valley Authority preliminary figures show power demand at 9 a.m. Tuesday morning reached the second highest winter peak in TVA history.
The utility reports preliminary power demand reached 32,460 megawatts as temperatures averaged 4 degrees across the region. That's 112 fewer megawatts than the record winter demand set in January 2009.
The utility had asked local power companies to try to reduce power usage, but by late morning, demand had decreased. A TVA spokesman says the utility is no longer requesting conservation measures from customers. However, TVA was continuing in-house conservation measures.
TVA spokesman Scott Brooks said the peak would have been 1,000 megawatts higher if the utility didn't have interruptible service contracts in place, like the one that dictated the shutdown of power at Murray State University Monday night.
