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City Encourages Voluntary Power Conservation (02-14-21)

The extreme cold weather hitting a large part of the country is causing a strain on the natural gas supply that generates electricity for cities across America, including Cushing.

Cushing’s electricity is supplied by the Grand River Dam Authority, which is part of the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), the electric balancing market for a 17-state region that stretches from Canada to Texas. The SPP is asking its member utilities, including the Grand River Dam Authority, to begin conservation efforts.

It is hoped that conservation efforts will prevent the need for planned curtailments of power within the SPP region.

“Cushing residents and energy users play a key role in helping us avoid any curtailment of service,” said Cushing City Manager Terry Brannon. “If we reduce usage through voluntary conservation efforts over the next several days, we can dramatically reduce the City’s demand. We urge every Cushing customer to take whatever steps you can to help us through this situation.”

Steps customers can take to conserve their use include:
•Turn down thermostats to 68 degrees;
•Close shades and blinds to reduce the amount of heat lost through windows;
•Turn off and unplug non-essential lights and appliances;
•Avoid using large appliances (ovens, washing machines, etc.)
•Businesses should minimize the use of electric lighting and electricity-consuming equipment as much as possible;
•Large consumers of electricity should consider shutting down or reducing non-essential production processes.

“We don’t know if or when we might have any curtailments in service,” Brannon said. “We are continuing to work with our partner GRDA to monitor the current situation and working to do our part to mitigate any service disruption.” “We appreciate our customers help during this unprecedented weather event.”

Presently, the City is operating its power production plant and supplying power to our customers directly. If there is a curtailment of service, essential infrastructure such as the hospital, nursing home, public safety center, water and sewer plants, etc. would be exempt from any planned curtailment. The City will provide updates in the event there are any service disruptions.

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City of Cushing
02-14-21