COLUMBIA, S.C. — A major provider of electricity in the South Carolina Midlands is urging residents to be judicious with their energy use due to a high demand recently placed on the grid due to extremely cold weather.
Dominion Energy is advising residents to take various precautions to help protect the stability of the electric grid since record-low temperatures have led to heavy use of the utility.
“We are feeling the effects of historically cold temperatures as our customers are running their heating units extra hard trying to keep warm,” Dominion Energy South Carolina President Keller Kissam said in a statement provided by the utility. “Our top priority is keeping every one of our customers safe and warm while our team works hard to manage this situation."
Dominion reports that ways to decrease energy use include setting thermostats to 68 degrees or lower, turning off non-essential lights, unplugging nonessential appliances and devices, limiting the use of major power-consuming appliances and equipment, and ensuring central heating unit vents are unobstructed.
Santee Cooper announces rolling outages to protect grid
Elsewhere in the state, another electricity provider, Santee Cooper, is making a similar ask but is already warning of more drastic measures. Santee Cooper announced on Saturday morning that, as necessary, it would be implementing "temporary, managed, and coordinated 30-minute rolling outages" across the system to help manage the strain on the power grid.
“There is never a good time to implement this type of action, and we apologize for any inconvenience that these temporary interruptions may cause for those who rely on our power, especially during this holiday period,” president and CEO Jimmy Staton said in a statement the utility provided.
The move will also impact electric cooperatives that get their power from Santee Cooper, the city of Georgetown, and the town of Bamberg.
The company said that efforts by customers to reduce power use would help reduce the need for rolling outages.