Due to bitterly cold temperatures and the winter storm, the demand for electricity has reached an all-time high.
Officials from Entergy Louisiana and Atmos Energy are urging all customers to conserve power usage during the winter weather.
Here are some suggested steps to lower the demand for electricity and gas:
- Lower the central thermostat to 68 degrees.
- Lower the water heater temperature to 120 degrees, because it can account for as much as 25 percent of the energy consumed in your home.
- Open blinds, drapes and curtains to let in warmth from the sun.
- Delay laundry, washing dishes, bathing and other non-essential uses of electricity until this appeal for conservation has ended.
- Reduce shower time and avoid baths. Showering accounts for about 40 percent of your home's hot water use.
- Wash clothes with cold water, cook foods at the lowest possible setting and refrain from opening the oven door while baking.
- Unplug electronic devices and turn off lights that are not in use.
- Don’t allow warmed air to escape from the home.
Energy workers are restoring power for customers where it is safe to do so. Road closures due to icy conditions and other accessibility challenges due to the storm may affect their ability to reach some areas could delay restoration in those communities.
Due to the additional measures crews must take, restoration may take longer, especially where there are widespread outages. Additionally, crews will continue to practice social distancing ask that customers do the same.
Entergy Texas has started periodic power outages for its customers across southeast Texas. The company is taking this action as directed by the reliability coordinator, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, as a last resort and in order to prevent a more extensive, prolonged power outage that could severely affect the reliability of the power grid.
