CU electricity demand reaches record high

City Utilities’ electric customers yesterday set a new record for usage, reaching 764 megawatts as of 5 p.m.

The historic usage broke the 760-megawatt record set July 22, 2005.

Water also continues to be in high demand. The year’s peak in customer demand was June 30, with 49 million gallons. In the last week, demand remained near 40 million gallons; the record is 52.47 million gallons, set July 29, 1999.

Pump failure

Meanwhile, CU officials are wondering why a recently returned water pump to the pumping system at Stockton Lake failed to work after installation.

The permanent pump arrived at the end of June after being sent in for repairs. The other two permanent pumps also broke in the last year and still are being fixed.

CU has decided to remove the pump and perform an inspection to see why it ran without problems at the repair factory but won’t run once installed.

The pump will be returned to the factory, where a CU staff member will oversee the performance test. CU had a representative from Overland Park, Kan.-based consulting firm Black and Veatch present during the first test.

The temporary pumping system at the lake, rented in May, continues to supply Springfield’s Fellows and McDaniel lakes with about 16 million gallons of water per day. More than 1 billion gallons have been pumped since installation, representing one-tenth of the water storage at Fellows Lake.

Storage levels as of July 14 were at 75 percent. CU officials continue to encourage customers to conserve water when possible.