El Paso Electric say they’re prepared for the upcoming heatwave, customers using more power

EL PASO, Texas – El Paso Electric officials say the utility is prepared for an upcoming demand, as customers use more electricity during the summer months.

El Paso Electric serves over 450,000 customers throughout the El Paso and Las Cruces area.

Omar Gallegos, the Vice President of Transmission and Distribution at El Paso Electric, said they understand that this is one of the busiest times of the year.

“Going into this time of year is when our customers utilize the highest amount of electricity and the demand is the highest, so we are always working and preparing for the summer,” Gallegos said.

He said their equipment is most strained during the summer months.

“It’s double than what it is in the winter time frame, so we go from you know having a peak of about approximately 900-1000 megawatts in the winter. But in the summer it can upwards of 2,100 megawatts in one given hour,” he said.

To ensure that the system won’t fail, Gallegos said they start preparing for the summer months in the fall.

Additionally, Gallegos said they are confident the system won’t fail. He said the last time it did was in February 2011, when El Paso experienced a major winter freeze.

Some preparations for the summer months include ensuring enough equipment is available during the summer.

El Paso Electric workers and crews also shift schedules to ensure there’s enough available staff during all hours of the day.

Gallegos said another advantage this region has is that El Paso Electric is connected to the Western grid and not the ERCOT grid like the rest of the state of Texas.