UPDATED 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16: At a morning press conference, City Utilities CEO Gary Gibson said the order for power blackouts had been lifted -- but advised customers that the situation is very "fluid," and intermittent blackouts could resume at anytime over the next few days.
The director of Greene County's Office of Emergency Management, Larry Woods, advised anyone who relies on a medical device to make sure it is fully charged or has backup battery power. Woods also said preparation is key: share your emergency plan with friends and family members.
Original article:
City Utilities of Springfield has confirmed that rolling blackouts of electric power are underway Tuesday morning in an effort to reduce load during the winter storm.
“We will reduce electric load on our system in a rotation method reducing two feeders in separate areas of the community at a time,” said CU spokesman Joel Alexander in an email, adding that the blackouts are "effective immediately."
The utility company will try to alert residents before the blackouts, he added.
You can watch the 10:00 a.m. Tuesday CU press conference on KSMU’s Facebook page, and KSMU will update this story as more details are known.
Utilities in West Plains, Nixa and across the Midwest are experiencing similar challenges and have also indicated they may go to rolling blackouts this week, too. For steps you can take to help reduce the electric and natural gas load, you can see our story here.