Power Prices Surge Amid Air-Conditioning Binge in U.S. Northeast
- Electricity prices in New England nearly triple from year ago
- Record heat recorded from Washington to Vermont Sunday
Photographer: Christopher Evans/Boston Herald/MediaNews Group/Getty Images
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Americans in the northeastern U.S. are cranking up the air conditioning amid an early season heat wave, and it’s causing an unusual spike in power prices.
The cost of electricity in New England has nearly tripled from a year ago. Temperatures are touching record highs everywhere from Washington to as far north as Burlington, Vermont, said Frank Pereira, a forecaster at the U.S. Weather Prediction Center. Relief won’t come until the weekend, with the extreme heat lingering through Wednesday.