COLUMBUS/BROWNSTOWN, Ind. – In a message to customers this week, Bartholomew County REMC (BCREMC) and Jackson County REMC (JCREMC) warned about the possibility of rolling blackouts caused by high temperatures this summer.
The companies were alerted to the possibility by Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), an independent, non-profit organization that operates the electrical grid in the middle part of the United States from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. They said during peak usage customers may have a shortage of electricity and if it reaches a critical stage, the grid could collapse which is what the rolling blackouts are designed to prevent.
If called upon by MISO to reduce the load on the grid, BCREMC and JCREMC will first ask for voluntary reductions from their customers to cut back on their energy usage during peak times (2 to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday) by setting air conditioner thermostats up a couple of degrees and putting off running dishwashers, dryers, pool pumps, and other non-essential electric devices during this period.
If this does not reach the needed reduction, rolling blackouts will begin. A rolling blackout typically lasts 15-30 minutes per location before its “rolls” to the next area.
“We have a plan in place that our systems engineer will manage to reduce our demand on the grid. We do not know exactly when you will be affected by a rolling blackout and all members will be affected in the same way, it just may be at different times,” JCREMC said in a statement to customers.