The Rio Grande Valley is experiencing record electrical demand today due to extremely cold weather. AEP Texas along with neighboring utilities are asking electric consumers to conserve electricity to avoid any power disruption.
On Wednesday, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas ordered rolling power outages throughout the state due to the loss of power generation. Today, the record electrical demand in the Valley could possibly cause the need for further rolling outages to prevent more widespread outages.
Consumers who require an uninterrupted power supply are encouraged to make contingency plans in case of an outage.
Consumers and businesses are urged to reduce their electricity use to the lowest level possible, including these steps:
* Limit electricity usage to only that consumption which is absolutely necessary. Turn off all unnecessary lights, appliances and electronic equipment.
* 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.
See more conservation tips at “Powerful Advice,” Public Utility Commission of Texas:
www.puc.state.tx.us./ocp/conserve.