New Zealand’s electricity use hit an all-time high this morning as a polar blast pushed households across the country to turn up their heaters.

Transpower, which operates the national grid, said demand peaked at 7,247 MW, a new record for the country.

It surpasses the previous record of 7,141 MW set only a fortnight ago during the late July cold snap, meaning the national record has now been broken twice in a matter of weeks.

“It’s cold out there this week,” Transpower said. “Thank you to everyone working across the energy sector who has helped meet this increased demand.”

The grid operator said it had issued several Customer Advice Notices to the industry this week as demand climbed. The notices give generators and other participants advance warning of expected demand levels so they can prepare and coordinate.

“This is part of our normal operating procedures,” Transpower said. “They provide advance notice of expected demand levels so generators and other industry participants can prepare and coordinate their response.”

Transpower said the notices had helped support industry-wide coordination through the winter peaks.

Despite the record demand, the company said households did not need to do anything.

“We’re keeping a close eye on the situation and while things are tight at this stage we don’t anticipate any impact to electricity supply and we don’t need New Zealanders to take any action.”

The record comes as snow and bitterly cold mornings continue across the South Island, with Christchurch among the centres affected.