02/16/2021
Please be aware we may have outages! If you still have water make sure you leave it on if this happens so it will not freeze.
POWER SUPPLY UPDATE:
UPDATE 11:15 AM -
We have great news to update our members. We want to thank our members for helping us in power conservation and keeping us from entering a rolling blackout.
• Last night, Associated Electric Cooperative (AECI), which generates LREC’s power, set an all-time peak hour demand of nearly 5,600 MW. This morning’s peak was around 5,500 MW.
• All available generation is online, although natural gas supply is causing curtailment at some natural gas plants.
• AECI continues to import firm power from neighboring utilities to cover the gap.
• SPP and MISO both started rolling blackouts this morning. Those actions alleviated some pressure on Associated’s system.
• While the situation continues to be extremely tight, Associated hasn’t had to ask G&Ts to shed load. Plans have been coordinated with the G&Ts, as the situation could still necessitate that action. However, we are hopeful that the worst is behind us.
• We encourage our members to continue to conserve energy to help us get through this situation.
UPDATE 7:30 AM -
The capacity has reached a critical level. It is likely that our power supplier will have to shed some load to keep our system operational to avoid larger outages. Our power supplier will determine what areas will be affected. The outages could last between 55 minutes to an hour. Please continue to conserve energy as directed before.
What does this mean for me?
You could face a temporary outage, not to exceed one hour, at some point during the next few days. While LREC will do its best to notify members of any potential power outage, it is highly likely that LREC will not know who will be affected until moments before the outage occurs.
What do I do?
Prepare. While we hope that our power provider does not have to initiate these unprecedented measures, it is a reality as it has happened in other parts of our state and region.