KNBN NewsCenter1
February 16, 2021
RAPID CITY, S.D. At 6:28 p.m. Central time on Feb. 16, SPP declared an Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) Level 2. An EEA Level 2 requires SPP to direct its member companies to issue public conservation appeals. SPP’s forecasts anticipate that due to high load and persistent cold weather, it is likely its system will continue to fluctuate between EEA levels over the next 48 hours and may require issuance of controlled interruptions of service.
West River Electric Association stated in a post Tuesday night that there is a possibility that load-shedding will occur Wednesday morning, resulting in temporary outages in some locations. No specific areas have been listed; WREA says that the areas facing a rolling blackout will be selected based on the amount of energy that is required to be shed. WREA says its customers should have a 10-15 minute warning before power is disconnected.
KNBN NewsCenter1
February 16, 2021
The scenario we hoped would NOT happen, has. The Southwestern Power Pool, which many electric utilities (including…
RAPID CITY, S.D. The West River Electric Association announced a rolling blackout for the Weston Heights area of Rapid City in a Facebook post Tuesday morning.
According to an update to the post, the blackout is due to an order from the Western Area Power Administration the direction of the Southwest Power Pool reliability coordinator. The Weston Heights substation was dropped for load control due to the extreme cold conditions from the borders of Texas to Canada.
WAPA has indicated to indicated to West River Electric that service will be restored by 8:30 a.m.
KNBN NewsCenter1
February 15, 2021
RAPID CITY, S.D. – As the cold weather persists, the West River Electric Association and Black Hills Energy are asking customers to limit their energy use.
Due to unusually high energy consumption tied to the freeze, they’re asking customers to avoid things like laundry, showering, cooking and washing dishes during peak energy times. That means limiting use of hot water. Peak times are morning and night from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Companies urge conservation to continue until temperatures start to warm back up.
Black Hills Energy says rolling black outs are not a concern for their customers. West River Electric says they are “doing everything in its power to avoid this escalating to that level,” in regards to restricting energy use. Lacreek Electric Association says their customers may experience outages.
KNBN NewsCenter1
Local electricity providers say further blackouts possible but not likely
February 16, 2021
RAPID CITY, S.D. As unprecedented cold sweeps across the Midwest and Southern Plains, energy consumption has reached a new high, forcing power providers into temporary blackouts to build back energy reserves.
Southwest Power Pool, or SPP, provides service for 17 central and western states from the Canadian border through Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. Service is then divvied by region. Serving West River Electric Association and other Western South Dakota energy distributors is the Western Area Power Administration.
Courtesy: SPP
At peak energy usage Tuesday morning, SPP issued a ‘Level 3 Energy Emergency Alert.’ According to SPP’s Facebook page, this means “system-wide generating capacity has dropped below our current load”, warranting interruptions of electric service across the entire service area, including WAPA.
By next August, Watertown will likely have its first electric vehicle charging station open to the public.
The South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources recently awarded a $58,035 rebate for Watertown Municipal Utilities to install a Level 2 charging station that can charge two electric vehicles simultaneously.
WMUâs share of the funding comes as part of a mitigation trust automaker Volkswagen set up following its diesel emissions scandal last decade.
With Sioux Valley Energy, West River Electric Association, West Central Electric Cooperative, Brookings Municipal Utilities and NorthWestern Energy also receiving rebates, the funds will be used to begin building an electric vehicle charging network using direct current fast charging along Interstate 29 and Interstate 90. The planned charging network will be separate from Teslaâs well established network along I-90.