Searing Heat Has Texas Power Surpassing $1,000 a Megawatt-Hour

(Bloomberg) -- Wholesale electricity in Houston surged past $1,000 a megawatt-hour to the highest levels since January as people blasted their air conditioners to keep cool.

Temperatures were forecast to reach 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 Celsius) in Houston on Wednesday. People trying to stay cool sent electricity demand jumping above 61 gigawatts, eclipsing a previous May record set last year. That had spot power at a Houston hub surging to as high as $1,466.32 a megawatt-hour at about 5:30 p.m. local time.

And the heat isn’t through with Texas yet. Temperatures in Houston are expected to reach 96 degrees on Thursday before cooling off, according to AccuWeather.

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