Eskelsen said the outages were a result of localized equipment failures, not the heat. However, he said, such outages can be exacerbated by high temperatures.

Hot summer days create the greatest demand for electricity along the Wasatch Front, driven mostly by central air conditioners, which account for 30 percent of total residential electricity usage.

On July 12, 2005, the high temperature reached 103 degrees, creating a peak demand of 3,800 megawatts of electricity for Rocky Mountain Power customers along the Wasatch Front. That compares to about 2,800 megawatts of electricity used on a typical day in January, Eskelsen said. A megawatt is enough electricity to power 500 to 700 typical homes.

While peak electricity loads are being met, the state issued "yellow alerts" on Friday, Monday and today, urging people to conserve electricity from the hours of noon to 8 p.m.

Chris Young, meteorologist with the National Weather Service forecast office on North Temple, said the highs have been above 100 degrees since Friday. Still, he said, the hot spell is "not even close to a record" number of days above the century mark.

The forecast was for 103 degrees today, as well.

"It's just a pattern, a big ridge (of high pressure) over us," he said. Light southwestern winds are pulling in warm air from the desert Southwest, he said.

With the winds come ocean moisture, he said. That makes Utah muggy, adding to the discomfort.

On Wednesday, however, "We're going to cool a bit because it's going to be much more cloudy." The high that day is predicted at only 98.

Meanwhile, a record high of 103 was recorded Monday at the Provo/BYU station, while Salt Lake City tied its record for the date, also recording a 103 measurement. Records were set Sunday in Provo, Pleasant Grove, Bryce Canyon and Coalville.

"There are a lot of hot temperatures across the United States," noted Len Randolph, meteorologist at KSL. "Most of the 48 contiguous states are experiencing higher than normal temperatures."

This isn't even the hottest period of the year for Utah, based on typical summers, he said.

The hottest time, Randolph said, is from July 24 through Aug. 2.

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Contributing: Dave Anderton

E-mail: bau@desnews.com; bwinslow@desnews.com