SEATTLE — Seattle City Light and other utilities said they are seeing an increase in the number of homes and businesses installing air conditioning.
They're planning for now and in the future by investing in infrastructure, monitoring conditions and modeling demand increases.
US Census Bureau data showed that 44% of Seattle residents had air conditioning in 2019. That number rose to 53% by 2021, the latest year for which data is provided.
"Seattle is still one of the cities in the US that has the least amount of air conditioning, but we are seeing an increase," said Jenn Strang, Seattle City Light (SCL) media relations manager. "It's still well below the average, but as people are adding air conditioning units and heat pumps to their homes, that does increase demand."
Strang said SCL is meeting demand with its own hydroelectric resources and by purchasing additional power from the marketplace when needed. Meanwhile, it's working on short and long-term investments to ensure sufficient energy in the future.
"We’re planning for now and in the future by making significant investments in infrastructure to ensure reliability and resiliency," Strang said. "We closely monitor conditions and plan ahead with forecasts and modeling to meet any demand increases. We have a team of climate experts that are working to ensure we’re well prepared for what lies ahead."
During this heat wave, the utility asked everyone to do their part to conserve energy. That includes turning off unnecessary lights or electronics and waiting until cooler parts of the day to run large appliances.