TULSA, Okla. — Southwest Power Pool says no rolling blackouts needed at this time.
Southwest Power Pool manages the electric grid and wholesale power market for the central United States. The SPP region serves: Kansas, Oklahoma, portions of New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Missouri, Minnesota, Iowa, Wyoming and Nebraska.
PSO Impact
The Public Service Company of Oklahoma said Monday's rolling blackouts were unavoidable for the state. The first PSO outage in Oklahoma started around 12:15 p.m. Monday and included about 11,000 customers. Over 6,000 of those were in Tulsa County. However, the service interruptions included Lawton, McAlester, Inola, Nowata and Schidler.
Stan Whiteford with PSO said the outages Monday lasted about an hour. Affected customers should have gotten an email or possibly a robocall telling them the blackout was coming.
PSO urges customers to reduce energy consumption inside their homes for the next several days by eliminating chores that require electricity and turning thermostats down by at least five degrees.
Although no further service interruptions are planned, Whiteford said it will depend on how much energy customers save in the coming days.
OG&E Impact
Southwest Power Pool notified OG&E that temporary service interruptions are not required at this time.
Officials said they'll continue to coordinate with SPP should more action be required. While temporary service interruptions are not being required at this time, the continued extreme cold weather forecasted for the region, combined with the high demand for natural gas, increases the potential for the reinstatement of these short-term service interruptions.
READ MORE: Oklahoma Natural Gas asks customers to conserve energy during winter weather
How to Conserve Energy and Power
- Set thermostats lower than usual, if health permits
- Postpone using major electric appliances such as stoves, dishwashers, and clothes dryers until mid-day or after 9 p.m. when the demand for electricity decreases
- Turn off electric lights and appliances that you do not need or are not using
- Businesses should minimize the use of electric lighting and electricity-consuming equipment as much as possible
- Large consumers of electricity should consider shutting down or reducing non-essential production processes
READ MORE: How to conserve energy
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