T&T reached its highest ever electricity demand of 1,410 megawatts on August 28th 2023 in the midst of high temperatures.

T&TEC General Manager Curvis Francois says the heat would have likely caused increased use of AC units and was coupled the usual increased demand for electricity during the July/August vacation.

Mr Francois says T&TEC has enough capacity (2,037 megawatts) to meet the surge in demand, but notes that increased demand means increased use of natural gas.

As such, the company is urging people to practice power conservation even in the midst of high temperatures, once it is safe to do so.

T&TEC says this can be achieved by using the AC at a higher temperature with fans helping cool the room – it notes that every degree of cooling increases the AC’s energy use by six to eight percent.

It says people can also shield the sun’s rays from entering the home where possible, reduce water heating, unplug appliances when not in use and switch to energy-efficient LED bulbs.

This story was updated after a follow-up statement from T&TEC.