The record-breaking cold is breaking power usage records, too.

Temperatures more suited to the Arctic Circle than Allentown produced a new peak power usage record Friday among PPL Electric Utilities customers. Preliminary figures show a new mark of 7,883 megawatt-hours, which breaks the old mark of 7,816 megawatt-hours set just 13 months ago, in early January 2014.

The latest record, set at 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. Friday, means customers used 7.88 million kilowatt-hours of electricity during that hour, enough to power about 700 homes for a year. The company has invested about $4.7 billion in its system in the past decade and is poised to invest another $5.7 billion over the next five years.

Improvements include rebuilding older lines, installing more automated smart grid technology and making the system more storm-resistant. PPL reported no notable cold-weather-related issues on its transmission and distribution systems. The PJM Interconnection, which coordinates and directs the operation of the regional transmission grid serving all or part of 13 states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, also reported setting a new power demand record.