Midwest Energy press release
With record-breaking cold expected to grip much of the country through mid-week, Midwest Energy is asking customers whose health permits to turn thermostats down a bit, and to not use appliances with heavy electricity consumption, beginning at 12:01 a.m. Monday, Feb. 15 and continuing through mid-week.
“Last week brought a trifecta of bad events – the lowest temperatures in decades across the entire region for more than a week; tight supplies of natural gas due to record use and supply interruptions; and finally, wind generation resources are at low levels and the wind is forecast to decrease further Sunday evening,” said Bill Dowling, Midwest Energy’s Vice President for Engineering and Energy Supply.
Hays Daily News Staff Reports
Extreme record-breaking cold continued its grip on Ellis County Sunday and Monday, as part of a storm blanketing the Midwest.
Topping that off, snowfall from Saturday night and overnight to Sunday morning brought 2.5 inches of snow to Hays, according to the K-State Ag Research Center at Hays.
Gov. Laura Kelly on Sunday issued a statewide state of disaster emergency due to wind chill warnings and stress on utility and natural gas providers.
The temperature Monday in Hays by 11 a.m. had reached only minus 6 degrees, with a feels like temperature of minus 22. Tuesday s forecast is for warming, with a high of 14 degrees and a low of zero. Not until Wednesday are temperatures expected to climb into the low 20s.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Energy companies across Kansas suspended rolling power blackouts Tuesday but asked customers to continue conserving energy as the state remains in the deep.
WA Opposition leader Zak Kirkup wants to replace State-owned coal-fired power from Collie with wind and solar from the Mid-West by 2025 in a surprise move that has left Labor as the clean energy laggards in WA.
Kirkup’s energy plan announced last week also offers infrastructure support for a green hydrogen industry north of Geraldton and pledges net-zero emissions from the State Government by 2030.
Labor Energy Minister Bill Johnston has gone out of his way for two years to avoid being realistic about the future of Collie coal or supporting Mid-West wind farms.
Johnston was warned early on that growing installation of rooftop solar generating surges of power in the middle of the day combined with inflexible coal-fired power could make the South West power grid unstable as soon as 2022.