Evergy begins rolling blackouts as energy emergency worsens across Midwest
UPDATE from Evergy, 10:43 a.m. Tuesday: “We thank you for working with us this morning. At 10:15, the SPP lifted the current order and intermittent outages have been suspended at this time. Power should be coming back online soon for those impacted. We thank you for conserving energy and ask that you continue to do so.”
UPDATE, 8 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021: Evergy said Tuesday morning that it is resuming 30- to 60-minute outages “due to regional power supply needs as directed by Southwest Power Pool.” If your power is out for more than an hour, you are asked to call 888-544-4852, if you are a Missouri or Kansas City Metro customer; and 800-544-4857, if you are a Kansas Central customer. You can check current outages here: https://outagemap.evergy.com/
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Original story:
Kansans are being asked to turn down their thermostats, bundle up and conserve electricity amid rolling blackouts and subzero temperatures.
The largest energy company in Kansas has been directed to implement rolling blackouts and move into emergency operating plans amid a Midwest cold snap that is stressing the nation’s energy supply.
“In the Kansas region of Evergy, we haven’t had to do something like this since the 1980s,” said Evergy spokesman Chuck Caisley.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said Monday afternoon that the next two or three days will be “critical” to weathering the arctic freeze and energy crisis that has sent natural gas prices soaring.
“We all must cut back on natural gas and electricity usage now to ensure we have enough available to make it through these subzero temperatures,” Kelly said at a news conference.
Kelly’s news briefing came two hours after Evergy, which provides electricity in Kansas and Missouri, cut power to at least 60,000 customers Monday afternoon without warning. The utility company could continue shutting down service to blocks of customers for 30-60 minutes at a time Monday evening and Tuesday morning, state officials said.
Rolling blackouts are rotating, temporary power outages used to control the electricity demand across a grid during a power shortage.
Natural gas prices have been spiking as utility companies draw down their reserves at the same time there have been electric generation problems caused by winter weather.
A majority of outages reported on the Evergy outage map Monday afternoon were in the Kansas City area, near Manhattan and in Salina. Comanche County was also hit with rolling blackouts Monday afternoon. The company has not said and the state has not announced where the planned shutdown will be targeted.
“With these extreme cold temperatures, equipment may not operate as intended,” Evergy said in a news release. “As a result, outages could last longer than 30-60 minutes.”
Energy customers are being urged to conserve power by lowering their thermostats and keeping electricity use to a minimum until at least Wednesday, when temperatures in Kansas are expected to climb into the upper 20s. The temperature in Wichita at 9 a.m. on Monday was 8 below zero with a windchill of minus 29. Residents in the Kansas City, Missouri, metro area woke up to temperatures around 10 below zero.
Level 3 emergency
The natural gas shortage across the Midwest has now been elevated to a Level 3 Energy Emergency by Southwest Power Pool, which manages the electric grid across 17 states in the central and western United States, including Kansas and Missouri.
SPP notified Evergy and other companies across its coverage area Monday morning that region-wide electricity use exceeds the available generation across the service area and “its operating reserves are below the required minimum.”
“SPP has directed its member utilities to be prepared to implement controlled interruptions of service if necessary,” a news release from the SPP said.
“Controlled service interruptions are a last resort, and a step we take only when necessary to safeguard continued reliability of the regional grid,” said Lanny Nickell, SPP’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, in a written statement.
Simply lowering the thermostat wasn’t an option for hundreds of Wichitans who woke up without power Monday morning, including students living in the dorms at Wichita State University. About 1,100 students live on campus. The school had to turn to backup generators to keep students warm for about an hour and a half, a university spokesperson said.
An Evergy spokesperson said that the early Monday outages were weather related and are not rolling blackouts or any sort of throttling by the energy company.
Expect high energy bills
The outages followed warnings by Evergy and a State of Disaster Emergency declaration by Gov. Laura Kelly on Sunday indicating energy bills could increase if people don’t conserve energy.
Kelly said again Monday afternoon that Kansans should conserve energy to preserve the supply and to minimize future rate increases.
The price of natural gas has surged as energy customers in states from North Dakota to Texas struggle to heat homes and businesses. The governor’s statement said wholesale natural gas prices were 10 to 100 times higher than normal as of Sunday.
“Those costs will eventually flow through to consumers, and increase monthly natural gas and electric bills,” a statement by Kelly’s office said.
Two states south of Kansas, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas began rotating outages Sunday to reduce the state’s demand on the energy grid.
Natural gas typically trades on the wholesale market at $2-$3 per 1,000 cubic feet. On Monday, those prices had soared to $200-$300 per $1,000 cubic feet, according to the Kansas Corporation Commission.
How the price surge will effect energy bills for residential customers isn’t immediately clear, but it’s likely some of that cost will be passed along to customers.
Andrew French, chair of the KCC, said the need for rolling blackouts came from a confluence of problems.
“As we’ve discussed this with our gas utilities, they don’t think that this is going to be a supply issue, and there should be enough gas for everyone,” French said. “But those price spikes are very high, as much as 100, 150, 200 times the normal wholesale price of gas, and so obviously that’s a concern. But the situation has then sort of developed into an electric issue, and that is a supply issue.”
French said electricity generation has taken a hit due to the wintry weather throughout the central United States, from freezing fog on wind turbines to frozen coal stacks.
The KCC on Monday called an emergency meeting and authorized electric and natural gas utilities in the state to do whatever it takes to keep the power on. With increased natural gas prices, utilities may defer those additional costs to a regulatory asset account.
“For the public, the most important thing is conservation,” said Jeff McClanahan, director of the KCC’s utilities division. “Turn your thermostats down and be prepared for a high bill.”
McClanahan said utilities that fall under the KCC’s jursidiction, such as Evergy, will be allowed to defer the costs associated with the high prices.
“We’ll be able to smooth the bill for customers,” he said. “We don’t know what that impact will be, but we have that mechanism available. For those customers that are in a cooperative or served by a municipal (utility), it remains to be seen what those entities can do from a financial perspective to spread the costs out over time. Some may not be able to financially do that, so it’s going to depend on where you’re located as to what sort of relief you might be able to expect. And it won’t be known for a while.”
Tips for cutting energy use
Evergy has urged customers to safely limit energy use, providing the following guidance:
▪ Turn thermostats a little cooler (65-68 degrees). Avoid the use of electric space heaters.
▪ Close blinds and shades to reduce the amount of heat lost through windows.
▪ Change or clean filters on furnaces.
▪ Turn off unnecessary lights and appliances in your home.
▪ When possible, use large appliances (clothes washers, dryers and dishwashers) between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
▪ Reduce air leaks that let cold air in by sealing around doors and windows with weatherstripping or caulk and inserting foam gaskets on electrical switches and outlets.
▪ Businesses should reduce 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 processes.
This story was originally published February 15, 2021 at 12:34 PM.