• OG&E restores power; rolling blackouts still possible,
Rolling blackouts are still possible as demand on power grid continues
Most or all Oklahoma Gas & Electric customers awoke Wednesday morning to restored power with the utility reporting as of 7:30 a.m. it had no further outages related to deadly cold temperatures.
The utility reported more than 1,000 restoration workers were ready to address any issues.
Concerns remain with the Southwest Power Pool, which triggered rolling blackouts across its 14- state area when it hit phase three with generating capacity dropping below its load of 42 gig a watts due to subzero temperature sand inadequate supplies of natural gas. SPP reported it hit its morning peak on Wednesday of over 38,600 megawatts about 9 a.m.
The out ages remain paused, but the alert was raised to Phase 2 Tuesday night after dropping briefly to Phase 1.
“At this time, Southwest Power Pool continues to pause temporary service interruptions,” OG&E warned in a release Wednesday morning. “The potential for the reinstatement of short-term service interrupt ions remain as the extreme cold weather in the region, combined with the high demand for natural gas continues.
Lannny Nickell, chief operating officer at Southwest Power Pool, said in release that the service interruptions are a last resort response.
“This is the first time in SP P' s 80- year history we have had to take actions like these,” Nickell said. “All utilities across our regions have responsibility to en act service interrupt ions when necessary. S PP does not direct utilities to interrupt power to any particular home or business. Each utility follows its own emergency plan.”
Nickell said the power blackouts are better than waiting f or what might happen next.
“These actions are only taken after all other options have been exhausted ,” Nick ell said .“Cont roll eds ervice interrupt ions such as these help SPP protect our utilities and their customers from experiencing uncontrollable events that are likely to last longer with much greater impacts to many more people.”
The 911 Communications Center for EMSA, the ambulance service for Oklahoma City and Tulsa, experienced an influx of calls on Tuesday during the rolling blackouts from people who rely on powered medical equipment and have refrigerated medications. Given weather conditions, EMSA reports the 911 call volume during the outages was not sustainable. Concerns remain with the potential for more outages. Before call i ng 911, patients are advised to contact their medical provider about a power outage plan for medical devices powered by electricity and refrigerated medicines. Patients should find out how long medication can be stored at higher temperatures and get specific guidance for any medications and machines that are critical for life. Should a patient be experiencing a medical emergency, EM SA advises them to still call 911 immediately.
OG& E reported customer efforts to cut down on electricity use were helping. The downtown Oklahoma City skyline was largely dark Tuesday night as part of that effort.
The utility advised prior notification of new outages is not guaranteed but it will make every effort to communicate with customers about service interruption and estimated restoration.
“OG&E does not have the ability to exclude a particular home on a circuit experiencing a controlled service interruption ,” the release started. “Customers with concerns due to life-sustaining equipment should contact their physician for guidance.”