Southwest Power Pool, which manages the power grid and the wholesale energy market for 14 central states, said monday who instructed its members to initiate controlled power outages.
The situation: The SPP will implement “controlled service interruptions” to prevent uncontrolled power cuts, as states in the region face an aggressive winter storm.
- The company published a Level 3 Energy Emergency Alert, meaning “your operating reserves are below the minimum required.”
- SPP Specified that, although it has told its member concessionaires to reduce energy use, those members will take care whether interruptions are scheduled or not.
- SPP manages the power grid in Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming.
What they are saying: “After exhausting the use of available backup power, SPP subsequently directed its member utilities to implement controlled service interruptions to avoid future, more generalized and uncontrolled interruptions,” said SPP in a statement.
- “In our history as a network operator, this is an unprecedented event and marks the first time that SPP has had to request controlled service interruptions,” said Lanny Nickel, SPP executive vice president.
Worthless: More than 2 million people in Texas are already without electricity, as they face single-digit temperatures and a sub-zero thermal sensation.
Zoom out: At least 400,000 homes, businesses and other customers lost power in Mexico when low temperatures in Texas caused a shortage of natural gas and shut down power plants.
- About 70% of those impacted had their energy restored at noon, according to the network operator, Cenace.