The frigid weather in the south-central U.S. continues to plague North Dakota s electric cooperatives, many of whom were dealing with power outages Tuesday ordered by a regional grid operator.
Capital Electric Cooperative, which serves parts of Burleigh and Sheridan counties, said at least one-third of its 21,000 members were without power at one point Tuesday morning from Bismarck to Wilton. The co-op said the outages were rolling and seemed to last about 45 minutes before the lights came back on for affected members. We had no warning of this at all, spokesman Wes Engbrecht said.
Nor does Capital Electric have control over who loses power and when, as that s managed through one of its power suppliers, the Western Area Power Administration. The rolling outages could last through Thursday, according to WAPA.
Feb 16, 2021
Verendrye Electric Cooperative members experienced rolling blackouts early Tuesday morning because of a strain on the power grid caused by bitter cold temperatures in several states. The blackouts will continue until further notice. They are expected to last between 45 to 60 minutes at a time.
The Southwest Power Pool (SPP), which operates the grid that includes N.D. and 13 other states, declared an emergency alert and implemented rolling blackouts to restore stability to the grid. Rolling blackouts are a step taken to avoid bigger problems with the electrical grid.
SPP works with wholesale energy distributors to implement the blackouts. Verendrye is a retail energy provider and has no control over which areas have their power interrupted and when. If your power goes out, you do not need to notify us unless it is longer than an hour.
Jan 19, 2021
The new Minot Area Chamber Economic Development Corporation elected board officers at its organizational meeting. Jonn Knecht of American Bank Center was selected to serve as the first chair for the new organization.
“It is an honor to be selected as the chair of the new organization. I’ve served on both the former Minot Area Chamber of Commerce and Minot Area Development Corporation boards and see many advantages in kicking off the year as one.” Knecht said. “It’s now time to roll up our sleeves and get to work. We owe it to the investors and members to look for ways to be as effective and efficient as one organization. I am looking forward to serving with the new board and the staff to serve our region.”