Those who couldn’t wait for summer to arrive should love today.

For the first time in more than a year, the temperature is expected to reach 90 today, with growing humidity making it feel even hotter.

The National Weather Service has registered 88-degree days at the Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport in June, and several 89-degree days last year, but no recent 90 degree days.

NWS meteorologist Brad Rehak said the overall trend in the region has been higher temperatures.

“We are trending warm in the last several years,” he said.

Hot weather means that homes and businesses use more power for air conditioning, putting a strain on the power grid.

First Energy spokesman Chris Eck said that there is increased demand on the power grid during the summer.

“We have plenty of power on the grid ready to meet any demand. The system has to be built to sustain these hot days,” he said.

Bills are based on usage, so to hold down the July power bill customers must limit use of electronics or adjust the temperature on air conditioning systems, he said.

First Energy is the parent company of West Penn Power, which has customers in Butler County.

Several times each summer Central Electric Co-Op issues a peak alert notice to its customers advising them to limit electric use.

Ken Maleski, residential analyst for Central Electric, said the cooperative gets its power from the grid that stretches from New York to New Jersey.

The co-op issues its peak alerts after it gets a recommendation from a grid operator in Philadelphia, which monitors usage and predicts peak days based on weather and trends. Alerts usually come on 90-degree days.

Peak alert is a voluntary program through which customers agree to limit their power usage between noon and 7 p.m. This helps balance the loads.

Customers are asked to adjust the temperature setting on air conditioners and turn off dehumidifiers.

“We find that if you make your air conditioning 4 degrees warmer, it’s not that unbearable,” Maleski said.

The co-op has issued four alerts this summer, including three last week. Maleski said he anticipates another alert today and possibly Wednesday.

As temperatures trend up, rainfall totals are below normal.

Bob Coblentz, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, said that so far monthly rainfall totals for Butler have been below average.

With a dry February and May, the city has only received 15.65 inches of precipitation so far this year — 7.5 inches below normal, Coblentz said. So far in July the city has received 1/72 inches of precipitation. The monthly average is 4.26 inches.

Coblentz said the rainfall doesn’t amount to drought conditions, but it’s a large shortfall.

“Bottom line is, it’s dry for the year,” Coblentz said.

Eagle staff writers Joe Genco, Tom Victoria and Phillip Rau contributed to this report.