Energy Providers Warn Rolling Blackouts Still Possible Wednesday
As frigid temps continue to keep this area in a proverbial polar vortex stranglehold, power providers are preparing people for the potential of additional rolling blackouts again today.
Dakota News Now is reporting the power blackouts experienced on Tuesday (February 16) by many residents throughout the eastern half of South Dakota were lasting between 30 and 90 minutes in most cases.
Energy providers are strongly encouraging people to once again conserve and limit energy usage when possible to help ease the burden being placed on power grids at this time.
According to Dakota News Now, the extreme cold conditions helped to create several outages throughout the region, especially on Tuesday morning.
East River Electric reported having power restored to their customer base by late Tuesday morning. Such was the case with the great majority of energy suppliers in eastern South Dakota and western Minnesota.
Dakota News Now reports, Sioux Valley Energy reported having roughly 7000 customers without power in the Sioux Falls and Brandon area Tuesday morning. Those customers were without power for about an hour.
The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, along with several power suppliers in the state, is bracing folks for the possibility of additional outages today in some areas as Mother Nature continues with the sub-zero temps.
Because of the strain being placed on the power grid, a number of power providers were directed to de-energized substations. That action resulted in a series of rolling blackouts that created outages lasting between 30 to 45 minutes in duration. A little longer in some cases.
Dakota News Now reports there were businesses in Brandon that reported being without power on Tuesday for nearly three hours.
The good news, in theory, we are closing in on what appears to be the end of this arctic blast. Our friends in the Dakota News Now Weather Center say we can expect to see high temps next Monday through Wednesday range from the upper 30s to the low 40s here in the Sioux Empire. Halleluiah! Time to break out the Bermuda shorts.
Source: Dakota News Now
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