Utilities Urged Locals To Conserve Power Tuesday Due To Southern Cold
The Southwest Power Pool asked members to shed usage loads in its service territory Feb. 16. SPP oversees the bulk electric grid and wholesale power market in the central United States on behalf of a diverse group of utilities and transmission companies in 17 states.
At press time, messages on local utilities’ social media pages urged area residents to conserve electric usage and expect some interruptions in service.
A message from NorVal Electric Cooperative warned of some service interruptions: “We are working in conjunction with our power supplier to switch loads to different areas to maintain grid stability. Members served from the Lustre, Volt and Benrud substations will experience a short outage, up to 15 minutes, around noon Feb. 16 as our crews perform preventive switching. By performing this switching, members in these areas should not experience additional outages. We have been informed that members served from our Wolf Point substation may experience rolling black outs Feb. 16 and 17. At this time, we do not know when this will happen or the duration of each black out. We will provide updates as soon as we learn new information. If you have any questions, please call the office at 228-9351.”
Sheridan Electric Cooperative stated the following on their Facebook page at press time: “As many of you are aware, there is a power shortage in the southern states. Sheridan Electric’s power supplier has declared an emergency and has implemented rolling blackouts. We do not believe this will happen in our service territory but want to make you aware of the possibility. We are asking that all members consider energy conservation measures during the next couple of days.“ A message from Montana- Dakota Utilities on Feb. 16 stated: “Montana-Dakota Utilities is a member of the MISO transmission grid and energy market. MISO does not expect to implement load reductions today, and Montana-Dakota Utilities does not expect any power interruptions today. The region’s other transmission/ energy group, Southwest Power Pool, is curtailing load again today. Montana-Dakota Utilities does not receive energy from SPP and therefore is not impacted.”
To mitigate usage, utilities recommended users turn thermostats to 68 degrees to reduce electric heat demand, avoid using large appliances like clothes washers, clothes dryers and ovens and turn off and unplug non-essential lights and appliances.
