Heat Bringing Record Power Usage in East

Americans cranking up air conditioners in the Northeast on Thursday sparked record demands for electricity, while the heat wave prompted officials at Harvard University to shut down the school for only the second time because of weather.

Utilities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island asked customers to cut back on the use of electricity. Some warned they would shut off power in selected areas for periods of 60 to 90 minutes if the public failed to trim consumption.

At the Philadelphia Zoo, an ice company dumped a half-ton of ice into pools used by Siberian tigers, polar bears and gorillas to keep the animals cool.

Three-Day Weekend Break

In Cambridge, Mass., Harvard spokesman Peter Costa said the school will close today to give employees a three-day weekend break from a heat wave plaguing New England with temperatures in the mid-90s.

He said officials believe it is the first time in the school’s 152-year history that Harvard has been shut down because of heat and only the second time because of weather. The last time was during the blizzard of 1978.

In Rhode Island, not even the wave of medical garbage that washed up this summer on the state’s beaches kept people from cooling down in the ocean.

“With the heat this summer, all of our beaches and parks have seen a 10% increase from last year, if not more,” said Steve Wright, superintendent of Rhode Island’s state parks.

In St. Louis, the Coast Guard said a number of barges ran aground in recent days on the water-starved Mississippi, and a two-mile section of the river was being closed to navigation 12 hours a day to permit dredging.

Record High Temperatures

Record high temperatures were set or tied Thursday in Michigan at Alpena, 98; Traverse City, 97; Lansing and Grand Rapids, 96, and Muskegon, 92. It was 97 in Madison, Wis., 93 in Portland, Me., and 89 in Bridgeport, Conn.

Officials at Boston Edison Co. said they expected the demand for power to reach a record 20,000 megawatts in New England by midnight Thursday. Spokeswoman Sheila Eppolito said the company asked customers to cut back on the use of electricity.

“We could use everybody’s help, wherever they can cut back,” Eppolito said.

In Rhode Island, utilities instituted emergency procedures to cope with the demand. David Correira, spokesman for Blackstone Valley Electric Co., said the utility was prepared to shut off electricity to select segments of the population for 60- to 90-minute intervals if the power demand became too severe.