EVANSVILLE — The grid operator is “no longer requiring CenterPoint customers to conserve electricity,” the utility announced Sunday morning.
The news comes 24 hours after CenterPoint issued a press release stating that the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) wants customers to limit power usage during severe cold temperatures and large winter storms.
MISO controls the power grid across a large swath of the central United States, from the Dakotas to Louisiana. CenterPoint said it has stored enough energy to serve customers, but other areas are “experiencing energy shortages across (MISO’s) multi-state footprint.”
CenterPoint said if shortages worsen, MISO will order them to “briefly” implement “planned outages” in the Evansville area.
This has apparently stabilized enough to eliminate the conversation alert—at least for now.
“Severe cold weather is expected to continue for another week. If conditions change, MISO may issue additional alerts and CenterPoint will promptly notify customers,” CenterPoint spokesman Noah Stubbs said in a news release.
Saturday’s alert asks residents in the Evansville area to turn off their thermostats and avoid using ovens and other areas. This sparked a flood of angry comments online, with people forced to stay home due to heavy snowfall and sub-zero wind chill.
This article originally appeared in the Evansville Courier: Should I save electricity in Evansville during winter storms?
