Electricity providers asking customers to conserve energy to prevent power outages

Sunday, December 25, 2022

What are rolling blackouts and why do power companies do them?

Jeff Brooks with Duke Energy explains the reason for rotating outages, also known as rolling blackouts.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Sunday morning, the North Carolina's Electric Cooperatives (NCEC) sent out alerts to customers asking everyone to conserve energy while extreme cold weather persists.

In a news release, NCEC said making little changes can help avoid service interruptions, or rolling blackouts due to limited availability of electricity.

"The actions you take at home to conserve, multiplied across thousands of homes, will have a significant impact on reducing demand on the grid and interruptions to service. We deeply appreciate your partnership and understanding this holiday weekend," Nelle Hotchkiss, Senior Vice President of Association Services and Chief Operating Officer at NCEC said.

Some suggested ways you can conserve energy:

Delay the use of large appliances like dishwashers and dryers

Lower your thermostat a few degrees

Turn off any unnecessary lights

Charge electric vehicles overnight.

If you have an electric water heater, limit the use of hot water as much as possible.

ABC11 Weather Page

Saturday, Duke Energy confirmed it conducted rolling blackouts (rotating outages), amid the freezing temperatures, due to availability of electricity for resources. The intentional outages impacted 500,000 customers across the Carolinas. The rotating outages stopped by late afternoon.

""We are utilizing all of our available generation resources, distributed energy resources and capabilities. Our priority is to keep homes warm, and we will carefully manage these resources while also coordinating with Duke Energy and partnering with members on conservation efforts, said Amadou Fall, Senior Vice President of Power Supply and Chief Operating Officer for NCEC.