Power grid operator asks Ohioans to conserve power this holiday due to high demand – WHIO TV 7 and WHIO Radio

As the Miami Valley continues to dig out from the snow. There is a concern about the power grid.

The concern has officials wanting people to cut down on how much electricity they use.

Crews have been hard at work treating these snow and ice-covered roads.

“Our crews have driven about 292,000 miles across the state of Ohio since this winter storm started on Thursday,” Matt Bruning with the Ohio Department of Transportation said.

>> UPDATE: Ohio Turnpike reopens after nearly 50-vehicle pileup kills 4 people

ODOT said even though the snow is no longer falling, gusty winds are blowing snow back onto roads.

“Pavement temperatures are now up a little bit and have been through the day Saturday, so we’re now in the upper teens and low 20s across much of Ohio. That’s allowing the salt we use to work much, much better,” Bruning said.

Temperatures remain bitterly cold, putting a strain on some utility companies.

“We have a situation where the cold weather is really causing the demand for electricity to increase and we also have a situation where some of the power plants in our system are not performing because of the cold weather,” Mike Bryson, senior vice president of operations for PJM Interconnection said.

That is why PJM, the electricity grid provide for 65 million people, is asking the public to conserve electricity until 10 a.m. Christmas Day. Some of PJM’s member companies include AEP Ohio, Duke Energy and AES Ohio.

>> Snow Emergencies issued for area counties; What does it mean?

“We realize that it comes at the most inconvenient time with families getting together for holiday traditions… every conservation effort collectively as a community throughout these states under their guidance will help,” Mary Ann Kabel, corporate communications director for AES Ohio said.

AES Ohio shared tips on how you can conserve electricity:

• Setting thermostats lower than usual, if health permits
• Delaying use of major electric appliances such as stoves, dishwashers and clothes dryers until other times.
• Turning off non-essential electric lights, equipment and appliances

“Conservation really works,” Bryson said.

PJM said it’s trying to do everything it can to prevent it from having to do rotating customer outages, which are planned outages that try to ensure the power grid doesn’t collapse.

©2022 Cox Media Group