SPP declares Level 2 Energy Emergency

Oklahomans asked  to conserve electricity

by: Hicham Raache

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – The Southwest Power Pool declared a Level 2 Energy Emergency Alert, urging all homes and businesses in Oklahoma and other states within its 14-state region to conserve electricity.

SPP declared the Level 2 Energy Emergency Alert on Wednesday evening.

“We continue to urge all homes and businesses throughout our 14-state region to conserve electricity, but are not directing any interruptions of service at this time,” an SPP news release states. “The public should follow their service providers’ directions regarding local outages, tips for conservation and safety.”

Many Central Oklahoma homes and businesses that receive energy through OG&E experienced intentional rolling blackouts to mitigate significantly increased power consumption during the winter storm that has impacted the area over the past few days.

The SPP mandated the intentional blackouts to “manage regional system load and avoid protracted power outages,” an OG&E news release issued Wednesday states.

OG&E reports no power outages in the state as of 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Officials for the company said intentional blackouts are on hold for the time being, but that could change at any time.

“Per the Southwest Power Pool, temporary service interruptions remain on hold for now. This could change at any time as extreme cold weather in the region, combined with the high demand for natural gas, continues,” the OG&E news release states. “We will make every effort to communicate with customers about service interruption and estimated restoration should mandated interruptions resume.”

OG&E officials asks Oklahomans to conserve energy by doing the following:

• Set thermostats lower than usual (68 degrees), if health permits;
• Avoid using major electric appliances;
• Turn off lights and appliances that you do not need or are not using.