Electric consumers in Kansas are requested to be very conservative with electricity usage due to the extreme weather conditions that have caused tightening supplies of energy generation and natural gas. Our members, along with those served by Lane-Scott, Pioneer, Southern Pioneer, Prairie Land, Victory, and Western electric cooperatives have been asked to conserve energy over the past week. 

Effective at 10 PM CT on Feb. 20, 2021, the Southwest Power Pool has returned to normal operations for the entire 14-state balancing authority area.

None of our members should be experiencing an outage at this time. In light of the recent energy crisis, we urge members across our service territory to always be prepared for the possibility of an outage. To learn how, visit https://www.ready.gov/power-outages. 

Over the past week, Wheatland Electric was required to implement some controlled service interruptions, and we thank all our members who helped us conserve energy, whether voluntarily or involuntarily. For an overview of where and when these interruptions occurred, visit our website.

We want our members to know that these limited service interruptions were designed to maintain system reliability and prevent longer, uncontrolled outages. They occurred in real-time, so unfortunately we had little, if any, notice as to when and where they would occur. Learn more about why these controlled interruptions were necessary.

During the energy crises, we urged our members to help protect the energy supply across the region and avoid possible scheduled energy interruptions by doing things such as turning down their thermostats and avoiding the use of theirs oven and clothes dryer. Here were some more tips we shared:

• Postpone using major electric appliances such as stoves, dishwashers, and clothes dryers until the energy emergency is over.
• Turn off non-essential electric appliances and equipment (radios, coffee pots, media centers, etc.).
• Turn off power strips if not in use. 
• Actively turn off computers and monitors not in use (The "sleep" mode is good, but the "off" mode is better.).  If possible, use your laptop computer as it uses much less electricity than your desktop computer.
• Turn off lights wherever possible (don’t forget outside and decorative lighting).
• Adjust your thermostat.  Reduce unnecessary use of all air conditioning/heating units.
• If you have an electric range, plan meals that require a minimum of cooking.
• Open shades and blinds during the day and close shades and blinds at night to save energy.
• Rock your winter wardrobe indoors. 
• Avoid using your exhaust fans.
• If you have a fireplace, keep the damper closed when it is not in use.

As always, in the event you experiencing an outage, please contact your local Wheatland office during regular business hours or 1-800-ON-AGAIN after hours. We appreciate your cooperation and patience during this power grid emergency!

Please contact us at memberservices@weci.net if you have any further questions.