SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – Three of the largest electricity suppliers in the Ozarks region are asking customers to conserve energy where possible due to limited natural gas supply in cold weather.
Liberty Utilities followed Springfield City Utilities and White River Valley Electric Company with the request Sunday. The energy suppliers say natural gas reached peak demand during the cold snap. Natural gas resources are freezing in southwest Missouri, leading to limited supply.
“This is an unprecedented weather event affecting not only all of our customers, but also customers of natural gas companies across the Midwest,” said Gary Gibson, General Manager and CEO of City Utilities in Springfield, “Our priority in every service we provide is to keep our customers safe and make sure we do everything we can during this harsh winter event. ”
“Electric suppliers across the Midwest are seeing unprecedented demand for the power grid due to extreme weather and skyrocketing natural gas prices,” White River Valley Electric Company said in a press release.
“We know that saving energy during this time can be tricky, and we apologize for that,” said Tim Wilson, Liberty Vice President, Electric Operations. “We are so grateful to our customers for their help in reducing energy consumption. This will help us maintain service to homes, businesses and critical facilities during these exceptional weather conditions. Our crews work around the clock to keep our systems safe and working. We will continue to provide updates to our customers during this event. ”
Springfield City Utilities offers the following recommendations to help conserve energy:
- Set your thermostat at least 2 degrees lower than your normal setting. 68 degrees is the recommended average setting for the winter.
- Limit the use of natural gas fireplaces.
- Limit the use of plug-in electric heaters.
- Reduce the temperature setting of your boiler.
- In your home, look for other ways to reduce electricity and natural gas use during this short period.
White River Valley Electric Company specifically asks customers to reduce electricity usage during peak hours 6-10am and 4-20pm
The company also offers the following tips for Branson customers to reduce electricity:
- Turn and keep the thermostat low for 2-3 degrees.
- At the same time, minimize the use of large appliances.
- Use heaters sparingly.
- Seal around drafty doors and windows
- Replace oven filters.
- Lower the thermostats on electric water heaters.
- Turn off the lights and unplug small appliances when not in use.
Liberty Utilities has issued a peak advisory from 6pm Sunday to midnight Tuesday. Customers are asked to limit usage between 6:00 AM and 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM
The company made the following recommendations to save energy:
- Set thermostats to 65 degrees or as low as is comfortable. Customers who are older or have medical conditions complicated by the cold should not lower their thermostat.
- Turn off and unplug computers, monitors, chargers, printers, and televisions when not in use.
- Turn off non-essential lights.
- Postpone all non-essential energy consumption.
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