Winter energy use expected to hit record-breaking peaks in Florida

CAPE CORAL, Fla. —

Residents in Cape Coral dealt with power outages Saturday night as Florida's energy use is expected to reach record levels this winter due to colder temperatures and increased heating demands.

Igor Liezerovich, a Cape Coral resident, said, "Well, clearly we're going to be conserving because we have no electricity. So, you know, 100% conserving over here."

The Lee County Electric Cooperative (LCEC) reports that Florida's energy use is hitting a record, likely because of the colder weather and more people turning on their heat.

Shannon Williamson from LCEC explained, "Florida is going to reach an all-time peak in energy usage this winter that they have seen. Floridians are just not used to this kind of weather. Your initial reaction is to turn on your heater. Heating your home uses four times more energy than cooling, and it actually costs three times more to heat your home than to cool it."

For the first time since 2010, Florida is expected to hit a winter peak energy use of over 1,100 megawatts on Monday, which is almost 500 more than this time last year. LCEC is reminding residents to keep their thermostats below 68 degrees, reduce the use of large appliances, and bundle up to prevent widespread outages like those seen in Cape Coral, where thousands of outages were reported.

Joe Noa, another Cape Coral resident, said, "We hope that everybody else will contribute in their way as well. That to ease the burden on the power grid so that we all can get through this safely, as well as not affect us too much on the bill."

You can track your energy use on the LCEC site or SmartHub app.

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