Westfield G&E General Manager Dan Howard (WNG File photo)
WESTFIELD – Westfield Gas & Electric General Manager Daniel Howard said on Friday that this week’s stretch of temperatures with a heat index of over 100 degrees and high humidity happens only once every four or five years.
“Operationally, we made out fantastic. Very few problems, which were corrected in short order,” Howard said. He said most were distribution transformer overloads, which they try to predict, based on the forecast. But he said this time, there were not as many as they thought there would be.
“The system came through well,” Howard said.
As for whether WG&E experienced new peaks in usage this week, Howard said, “We did not. Believe it or not, the last highest peak was in 2010.”
Howard said that’s due to the energy efficiency and conservation measures being taken by residents and businesses, such as using LED lightbulbs.
“We’ve had programs promoting these measures for the last decade or so. They are doing the job as designed,” Howard said.
