On Monday, February, 15 at 11:30 a.m., the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), which balances electricity production and use for a 14-state region including Kansas, declared an Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) Level 3 just hours after issuing a Level 2 alert. The Level 3 declaration requiredthe SPP to direct its member companies to prepare to implement controlled interruptions of service if necessary.
As a result of the declared EEA Level 3, the Rolling Hills Esbon, Osborne and Bellaire substations were a part of the SPP directed rolling blackouts.
Effective at 2:00 p.m. CST today, February 15th, the SPP cancelled the EEA Level 3. However, conditions will remain tight and are anticipating fluctuating between Levels 2 and 3 over the next 24 – 48 hours. The foreseeable critical times being from 5:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.and 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. tomorrow, February 16th. This is due to higher energy demands with lower gas supply and lower projected wind generation as well.
Recap from the day:• During a Level 3, our transmission providers determine which areas to cycle off, not Rolling Hills• The goal is to not shut off the same area/substationtwice• Rolling Hills will get approximately a 10-15 minutenotice of which substation will be shut down – check our Facebook page for updates• If a shutdown does occur, it will last between 30 minutes – 1 hour
When and if the level does elevate again, we will do our best to keep everyone informed on the Rolling Hills Facebook page of what is happening.
Please continue to conserve electricity at home and work and be diligent in preparing for unplanned outages at any time.
Rolling Hills would like to thank our members for your patience, understanding and doing your part to keep service interruptions to a minimum. Let’s hope for warmer temps on Wednesday!