Jul. 12--SAN MARCOS -- Along with the drone of cicadas and laughter of children, a sure sound of summer is the incessant humming of air conditioners.

So it shouldn't come as a surprise that electric consumption by customers of San Marcos Electric Utility has experienced a record high this year, and alarmingly early in the season.

"We did set a new peak," said Tom Taggart, director of public services. Though he hadn't seen the latest numbers -- specifically from this past week -- Taggart said the system set a new consumption record on June 29 at 4:30 p.m. of 110,700 kilowatts.

"To put that in comparison, the old record in 2008 was 107,828 kilowatts on Sept. 2, so we're hitting a peak way earlier versus last year."

During the 30 days of June the average high temperature in San Marcos was 98.2 degrees and the mercury climbed to 100 degrees or more 14 times, with a maximum of 106 degrees recorded on June 25 and 29.

So far this month, the average high temperature is 101.4 degrees, and from July 1 through 9, the mercury has hit 100 degrees six times, with the highest on July 5 at 106.

However, the Bluebonnet Electric Coop's story is different. "We haven't set any records on consumption so far although we've come real close," said spokesman Will Holford. Still, he said, "usage is definitely high. It's hot and there's a lot of consumption."

Anne Harvey, spokesperson for Pedernales Electric Coop, said the peak usage so far this summer occurred on July 8 during the 6 p.m. hour. The coop doesn't separate different areas of its coverage, so specific numbers weren't available for Hays customers.

PEC customers used 1,126,700 kilowatts on July 8. Harvey said 2008's peak usage was on Aug. 4 at 1,085,600 kilowatts.

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