(The Oklahoman) – Oklahomans are wondering when their power might go off or come back after local utilities were ordered Monday to initiate rolling blackouts when power demand exceeded supply throughout the country’s midsection, where temperatures are up to 50 degrees below normal.
The Southwest Power Pool, the regional transmission operator that oversees the grid that serves parts or all of 17 states between here and Canada, notified users across its system at 12:30 p.m. that it is ordering blackouts within parts of its system in an attempt to conserve available power supplies.
Electricity use, officials said, has exceeded the amount of generation that’s available. The curtailments are needed, officials said, to prevent further, more widespread, and uncontrolled outages. “In our history as a grid operator, this is an unprecedented event and marks the first time SPP (Southwest Power Pool) has ever had to call for controlled interruptions of service,” said SPP’s executive vice president and chief operating officer Lanny Nickell.
“It’s a last resort that we understand puts a burden on our member utilities and the customers they serve, but it’s a step we’re consciously taking to prevent circumstances from getting worse, which could result in uncontrolled outages of even greater magnitude.” READ MORE
