Indiana Michigan Power urges customers to conserve electricity amid cold temperatures
SOUTH BEND, Ind. --- Frigid temperatures outside calls for warmer temperatures inside, and boosting up the thermostat a bit. However, that’s causing an issue for power systems across the region.
Indiana Michigan Power says the extreme cold temperatures have created extraordinary demands to power grids. Until Christmas morning at 10 a.m., Indiana Michigan Power is asking for the public’s help in reducing electricity use as much as possible.
“Quite simply, the demand for electricity may end up being greater than the amount of electricity available, so we can reduce that demand for electricity,” says Tracy Warner, a spokesperson for Indiana Michigan Power.
Warner says just one customer can make a difference in easing the emergency situation.
It can be as easy as setting your thermostat lower than usual if you’re able to safely, postponing the use of appliances like dishwashers and dryers, or even just remembering to turn the light off after you leave a room.
It’s not very common that power companies ask customers to use less power, but when they do, that means they’re preventing something worse from happening.
They warn that if customers don’t attempt to cut back on their power usage, it can cause power companies to have to turn the power off for some grids, causing temporary outages.
“Basically, we would be protecting the grid by doing some temporary outages in certain parts,” explains Warner. “Of course, we hope it doesn’t have to happen and we know this is a terrible time to ask that at Christmas, but this is for the protection of the grid, this is basically to keep something worse from happening.”
The emergency request only lasts until Christmas morning, December 25th, at 10 a.m.