The southeast region of the United States experienced the 12th coldest December through February in the 115 years that NOAA “National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration” has recorded.  It was the coldest three month winter period that Concord has experienced in 25 years.  With this record cold, the City of Concord electric customers experienced higher than normal electric bills for this time of the year.

The combination of record cold temperatures over an extended period of time causes customers to use more energy to heat their homes. As a result, their bills are higher than normal. It’s difficult to predict the impact to customers’ bills because of a number of factors. Bills vary because of different lifestyles, the age and capacity of heating units, condition of duct systems, size and thermal efficiency of the home, “air leaks,” thermostat settings, etc. Even a two or three degree difference in the thermostat setting can have a dramatic impact on the amount of energy used. 

In this area of the country, the heat pump is a very efficient way of heating homes.  If the outdoor temperature is below 50 degrees F, the heat loss of a home is greater and the heat pump needs to operate for longer cycles of time to maintain a constant temperature in the home.  As the outdoor temperature drops to 37 degrees F and below the heat pump needs to run constantly to produce enough heat to maintain a comfortable indoor temperature.  Also as the outdoor temperature drops below 37 degrees F the heat pump uses a second stage to heat the home, which is electric resistance heat coils to help maintain the indoor temperature.  These coils consume large amounts of electricity as they burn to keep you warm.

During this period the mean average temperature for December through February was 40 degrees F.  During this same three month period we experienced 77 out of a possible 90 days that the average temperature was below 50 degrees F.  Also during the same period we experienced 32 days the average temperature was 37 degrees F and below. 

Because of this extreme cold The City of Concord’s Electric Department saw an increase demand for power because of this extreme cold snap.  In fact we set an all time winter peak for demand of power in January.  Duke Energy did also.  This is a reflection that our customers have consumed more power because the effect of the extreme cold weather on their heating system.