By Simone Sebastian
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — How hot was it on Monday? According to Con Edison, it was so hot that customers cranking the A/C set the 2010 record for peak electricity use at 3 p.m., when the company delivered 12,680 megawatts of electricity.
The all-time peak record in the company’s New York City and Westchester County service area is 13,141 megawatts, set in August, 2006, during a particularly hot summer that saw multiple power outages in Queens.
Since 2001, the company has experienced only 33 other days with peak electricity use over 12,000 megawatts.
If you're measuring in Fahrenheit, the mercury peaked at 95 degrees, which was hot enough for the city to open its more than 200 cooling centers, providing senior citizens and those in need with respite from the potentially deadly heat and humidity.
The city opens the cooling centers — designated air-conditioned senior centers, libraries and other public buildings — when the heat index hits 100 degrees on one day or 95 degrees on two consecutive days, according to a spokesman for the Office of Emergency Management.
Tuesday is expected to be another scorcher, forcing the city to open its cooling centers for a second consecutive day.
Click here to find the cooling center closest to you.
