At A Glance: The “Turkey Bulge”
- Phenomenon: Sharp rise in energy use Thanksgiving morning
- Region: Pacific Northwest (Columbia River Basin)
- 2024 Spike: +950 MW increase vs. previous day
- Total Capacity: 14,680 MW (powers ~11.6 million homes)
- Key Benefit: Rapid dispatchability to stabilize grid
This Thursday, people across the Pacific Northwest will use ovens to bake turkeys, air fryers to crisp vegetables, mixers to fluff mashed potatoes and OLED televisions to gawk at parades and sportsball. Likely, many people are grateful for the conveniences that make Thanksgiving preparations and entertainment relatively easy and enjoyable. However, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers humbly recommends giving appreciation for consistent, affordable and easily dispatchable hydropower (of course, USACE would suggest that).
What connects hydropower to Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving is a unique experience for power providers. That’s because people tend to consume electricity unusually, compared to normal, non-turkey cooking days. Data from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) shows electricity demand peaks higher than normal on Thanksgiving morning within its transmission area. This could be due to people preparing meals with electric appliances. BPA staff have referred to this phenomenon as the “turkey bulge.” BPA data from 2024 shows an increase of about 950 megawatts of hydropower generation on Thanksgiving morning compared to the previous day. Additionally, the data shows an increase of more than 1,400 mw on both days in the late morning.
Day/Time Total hydro generation (mw) Difference
11/27/24 10 a.m. 7,575 –…