Anybody Know Where We Can Find A Spare $18 Billion? Oh, Yeah. We've Wasted Far More Than That Fucking Up Iraq! Oh, Well.

Today's EEI newsletter reports:

New Record Power Usage of 360,609 GWh Set in July
U.S. News & World Report noted that U.S. power demand hit a record 360,609 GWh in July, up 17.7 percent since the same period in 2000. The news magazine said the all-time mark came as the U.S. was bolstered by a stronger grid and a smothering heat wave.

EEI spokesman Jim Owen was quoted as saying: "We continue to live in ever bigger houses with more electronic technologies, like ... home theaters and multiple computers and subzero refrigerators. All that stuff incrementally drives a lot of demand." Added the news magazine: "That's true even though most kitchen appliances, he points out, are four times as efficient as they were a generation ago."

The news magazine wrote: "Cambridge Energy Research Associates, a leading consulting firm, noted that hot weather causes more incidents of equipment failure in electricity distribution systems. CERA says demand has reached levels that were not expected for another three or four years, and it estimates that $18 billion in annual investment in electric power systems is needed to prevent outages."
U.S. News & World Report , Aug. 4.