HOLYOKE, Mass. (AP) – New Englanders set a new record for electricity usage on Tuesday, and while demand is expected to remain high through the week, slightly cooler temperatures mean the record will likely stand, at least for now, the region’s power grid manager said.

Electricity use in ISO New England Inc.’s six-state region peaked at an average 26,749 megawatts between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., breaking the previous record of 25,348 megawatts set on Aug. 14, 2002.

Temperatures reached the 90s across much of the region but eased a bit on Wednesday. Electricity use at 11 a.m. Wednesday stood at 23,500 megawatts, said Dominic Slowey, a spokesman for Holyoke-based ISO New England.

The cooling trend was expected to continue through the weekend.

New England’s power grid has about 32,000 megawatts of capacity, but a small fraction of the total is typically unavailable because of maintenance.

The grid handled Tuesday’s peak use without any disruptions, and ISO New England did not resort to emergency measures or issue public calls for energy conservation.

“The New England power system was able to withstand this latest heat wave because of improvements made to the system over the past several years,” said Stephen G. Whitley, ISO New England’s senior vice president and chief operating officer.

ISO New England operates the region’s bulk power system and wholesale electricity markets, serving 6.5 million households and businesses.

AP-ES-07-20-05 1132EDT