OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Power companies say electricity demand in Nebraska dropped during the solar eclipse, stumping utilities that had braced for a surge in energy consumption during the event.
The eclipse Monday completely blocked out daylight in the state’s path of totality for about two-and-a-half minutes. Area power companies expected that as the sky darkened, electric lights turning on would use more power from the grid than on a normal afternoon, the Omaha World-Herald reported .
Utilities said they didn’t account for everyone who would take off work and school to catch the eclipse, switching off lights and air conditioners as they went outside.
On Monday, the Nebraska Public Power District was down 200 megawatts, or 7 percent, from the same time last week.
“We didn’t think we were going to see too much of a change. We thought it would be the evening bump (at mid-day) when the street lights started coming,” said Mark Becker, a spokesman for the district. “We probably didn’t even think about the fact that people weren’t going to be inside their businesses and schools.”
The Omaha Public Power District reports a similar drop to the Nebraska Public Power District, although it didn’t expect a surge in demand because of the small portion of its service territory that was in the path of totality.
The eclipse also had a significant effect on wind generation across the Southwest Power Pool, which is the regional grid spanning all or part of 14 states onto which Nebraska utilities funnel electricity. Utilities say lower temperatures combined with the eclipse temporarily had calmed winds and caused a 1,200-megawatt swing among wind turbines in the power pool within an hour.
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Information from: Omaha World-Herald, https://www.omaha.com
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