The resultant energy of solvent H-O bond exothermic elongation by O:double left right arrow:O repulsion, featured at <3100 cm(-1), and the solute H-O bond endothermic contraction by bond-order-deficiency, at 3610 cm(-1), heats up the (Li, Na, K) OH solutions. The solution temperature increases linearly with the number fraction of the ordinary O:H-O bonds transiting into their hydration states. The elongated H-O bond emits >150% the O:H cohesive energy of 0.095 eV that caps the energy dissipating by molecular motion, thermal fluctuation, diffusion, and even evaporation. Therefore, the intramolecular H-O bond relaxation dictates the OH- solvation bonding thermodynamics and the performance of basic solutions. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.