SPRINGFIELD, Mo (KY3) – Three of the major electricity suppliers in the Ozarks region are asking customers to conserve energy when possible due to the limited supply of natural gas in a cold climate.
Liberty Utilities followed Springfield City Utilities and White River Valley Electric Company with the request Sunday. Energy suppliers say natural gas has reached maximum demand during the cold. Natural gas wells freeze in southwest Missouri, leading to limited supply.
“This is an unprecedented weather event that affects not only all of our customers, but also natural gas consumers across the Midwest,” said Gary Gibson, CEO and CEO of City Utilities of Springfield, “The our priority with all the services we provide is to keep our customers safe and assured that we are doing our best during this serious winter event ”.
“Electricity suppliers across the Midwest see unprecedented demand on the power grid due to extreme weather conditions and soaring natural gas prices,” White River Valley Electric Company said in a press release.
“We know conserving energy during this time can be uncomfortable and we apologize for that,” said Tim Wilson, vice president of Liberty, Electric Operations. “We are very 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 teams work 24 hours a day. day to keep our systems secure and operational. We will continue to provide updates to our customers throughout the event. ”
Springfield City Utilities offers the following recommendations to help save energy:
- Turn the thermostat off at least 2 degrees from normal settings. 68 degrees is the suggested average setting for winter.
- Limit the use of natural gas fireplaces.
- Limit the use of plug-in electric heaters.
- Lower the temperature setting of your water heater.
- Look for other opportunities in your home to reduce the use of electricity and natural gas during this short period.
White River Valley Electric Company specifically asks customers to reduce electricity use during peak hours from 6 to 10 a.m. and from 4 to 8 p.m.
The company also offers the following tips to Branson customers to reduce electricity:
- Turn and keep the thermostat below 2-3 degrees.
- Minimize the use of major appliances at once.
- Use space heaters sparingly.
- Seal around running air doors and windows
- Change the oven filters.
- Turn off the thermostats on the electric water heaters.
- Turn off the lights and unplug small appliances that are not in use.
Liberty Utilities has posted maximum advice from 6pm on Sunday until midnight on Tuesday. Customers are asked to limit use between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The company offered the following energy-saving recommendations:
- Set the thermostats to 65 degrees or as low as comfortable. Elderly customers or those with medical problems complicated by the cold should not lower the thermostat.
- Turn off and disconnect computers, monitors, chargers, printers, and televisions during periods of non-use.
- Turn off non-essential lights.
- Postpone all non-essential energy consumption.
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