As arctic air gripped Northwest Florida for three days, Gulf Power employees bundled up and powered up to help keep customers warm despite unprecedented electricity demand.

With the completion of several transmission system improvements as part of the largest grid construction program in the company’s history, Gulf Power was able to reach a record-setting energy demand of 2,694 megawatts of power early Tuesday. That means that Gulf Power provided more electricity to serve its customers’ needs than ever before — thanks in large part to the reliability and condition of its generating fleet. This surpassed the company’s all-time peak demand of 2,634 megawatts set in August 2007.

“The investments we have made in our system are paying off and will help even more to serve our customers and embrace growth in the future,” said Jeff Rogers, Gulf Power manager of Corporate Communications. “Our goal is to maintain our reliability even during these periods of high demand, and our employees worked as safely and quickly as possible through the weather to serve our customers, who are at the center of everything we do.”

System improvements — from Smart Grid technology to new transmission lines and rebuilt substations — helped ensure the grid remained stable to support the increased demand for electric service. Demand on a typical winter’s day for Gulf Power customers would be about 1,800 MW. One megawatt equals one million watts — about as much electricity needed to power a Super Walmart.

As cold weather was forecast Gulf Power worked with its sister utilities in the Southern Company system to prepare for the increased need for electricity. Gulf Power employees pitched in extra hours to bolster equipment at the power plants. Line crews worked through the nights to restore power as the cold weather pushed equipment on the smaller lines to their limits under unprecedented electrical loads.

The cold snap has tapered off with warm weather forecast this weekend. However, Gulf Power continues to strengthen its system through several projects that will provide long-term reliable service.

Gulf Power is sharing resources to help customers use energy wisely during the winter months. At MyGulfPower.com, the company shares tips to customers to help save energy, offers programs to help use energy wisely and earn rebates, and provides an online outage map.