Verendrye Electric Cooperative members experienced rolling blackouts Tuesday morning because of a strain on the power grid caused by bitter cold temperatures in several states.
Verendrye spokesman Tom Rafferty said the the 14-state Southwest Power Pool (SPP) has been unable to keep up with the electrical demand from wholesalers, such as the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), a federal power marketing agency that provides power to Verendrye’s seven-county area. As a result, it has been necessary to drop some electrical load to stabilize the grid and avoid larger problems.
The North Dakota Public Service Commission reported many utilities in North Dakota were experiencing controlled outages due to low temperatures, high demand for energy and low amounts of renewable generation, including wind and solar, throughout the region.
SPP is one of two regional transmission organizations that serve electricity suppliers in North Dakota. The other is the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO). Xcel Energy, which serves most of Minot and some other communities, as well as Otter Tail Power Co., which serves some communities in the Minot region, are part of MISO and had not experienced controlled outages as of Tuesday afternoon.
However, both SPP and MISO issued alerts regarding grid challenges during peak demand times, according to the PSC.
In Verendrye’s service area, power outages typically have been lasting 45 to 60 minutes. Rafferty added that a Verendrye substation also experienced issues early Tuesday, resulting in some members in southwest Minot losing power for longer than an hour.
Rafferty said Verendrye wasn’t informed of the pending blackouts until after 7 a.m. Tuesday and is not privy to where and when blackouts will be occurring. For that reason, it has not been possible to give members advance notice. Nor is the PSC or any other state agency involved or informed in advance of rolling blackouts.
When power was cut by WAPA to the first Verendrye substation Tuesday morning, dispatchers received a one minute notice. The first rolling blackout affected a large part of southwest Minot and areas towards Burlington, Des Lacs and Ryder.
“We were told this morning after 7 a.m. that rolling blackouts might happen, and we immediately began communicating with our members on social media, messaging and in the news media,” said Verendrye Manager Randy Hauck. “But when power was actually cut to the first substation, the notice was literally about one minute.”
Rafferty said the high demand stems from extreme cold temperatures stretching from North Dakota to Texas and not from any one segment of the SPP territory. In addition, ice buildup on wind towers has caused freeze up that is affecting the ability to supply power, he said. There were also issues with natural gas delivery and with other types of electricity generation.
Rolling blackouts were expected Tuesday evening, given the peak demands that occur as people get home from work and other activities of the day. Rafferty said the blackouts could continue into today but are expected to end as warmer weather moves in. In the meantime, Rafferty noted, “If people would conserve power, that would be helpful.”
Tips from the PSC and Xcel for conserving energy include:
– Turn down your thermostat as low as tolerable – 65 degrees or lower if possible. Turn off electric heat in your garage or shop if you can (do not turn off if there are water lines present).
– Make sure lights are turned off when leaving a room and only use lights when needed. Switch off televisions, computers, video game consoles and cable boxes when not in use.
– Don’t run appliances, such as dishwashers and clothes washers/dryers. Clothes dryers are one of the biggest energy users in the home. If necessary to operate, use in early morning or late evening hours.
– Turn down the temperature on your electric hot water heater.
– Those who have alternative heating fuels, such as wood fireplaces, should consider using them to reduce electric or natural gas heating.
– Open curtains to let in sunlight during the day.
– Set ceiling fans to turn clockwise to push warm air down.
– Use low-temperature cooking methods and if using the oven, only open the door when necessary.
The PSC encourages residents to keep up to date with their utilities by visiting their utility’s website or social media sites. Impacts will be different for each utility and customers should follow advice being sent out specific to their areas.
