Hot Weather Drives Customer Demand for Electricity, New Monthly Record On Consumers Energy's System

JACKSON, Mich., July 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Consumers Energy's 1.7 million electric distribution customers set an hourly peak demand record for July estimated at 8,191 megawatts between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. Monday due to continued high air-conditioner usage.

The previous hourly peak record for July was 7,984 megawatts set July 16, 2002. The all-time peak for customer demand on Consumers Energy's system, 8,347 megawatts, was set on Aug. 7, 2001.

Strong customer demand also pushed the Sunday hourly peak demand record to an estimated 7,210 megawatts. That's the highest peak demand for any Sunday in Consumers Energy's 118-year history.

A megawatt is a million watts or 1,000 kilowatts. That's enough electricity to power approximately 10,000 100-watt light bulbs.

Consumers Energy, the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy , provides natural gas and electricity to more than six million of the state's 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.

For more information about Consumers Energy, visit our Website at http://www.consumersenergy.com/