North America Electricity use soared to an all-time high in Texas amid a searing heat wave, topping levels last seen before the coronavirus pandemic. With air conditioners humming across the nation’s second-most-populous state, demand on the power grid topped 74.9 gigawatts at 4:50 p.m. local time, surpassing a record set in August 2019, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which runs the system. The grid is operating normally, and officials say there are ample supplies to meet demand. One gigawatt is enough to power about 200,000 Texas homes. The record underscores the searing heat and rampant population growth underway in Texas as tech, aerospace and manufacturing companies flock to the state to take advantage of low taxes and relatively cheap labor. It’s also a potentially […]