Balancing the demand for electricity with a just-in-time supply (currently, electricity can’t be stored in meaningful amounts) and transmitting it over an expansive grid of transmission and distribution lines makes the U.S. electric grid the most complex machine in our nation’s history.

As an industry, we are currently impacted by several domestic and international economic challenges. Over the past several years, these challenges have followed a national trend of retiring older fossil fuel generation that runs 24/7 and transitioning to more intermittent renewable energy, which is largely dependent on the weather.

So far, generation additions haven’t kept pace with the retirement resources they will replace. As a result, we want everyone to be increasingly more aware of the possibility of requests to reduce electricity usage.

If the supply/demand problem becomes too great, our regional grid operator will order short-duration emergency service interruptions to preserve the grid’s operational integrity and reduce the risk of prolonged and widespread power outages.

Generation reserves are typically available for unexpected events that impact the system’s balance of supply and demand, but they aren’t as large as they once were. This situation increases the possibility of reductions in electricity more frequently to prevent large-scale poweroutages.

Harrison REMC will send messages and requests that you consume less energy when demand is high and supply is tight. We may ask you to turn off any unnecessary lights, appliances, etc. Use the delayed start functions on appliances to move laundry and dishwashing to later in the day. Setting your thermostat slightly higher this summer will also help.

We are working hard to ensure members are informed when these issues occur. We will continue to send messages and post on social media when these things happen.

Again, please be prepared for the possibility of outages. If the situation dictates, power could be intentionally disconnected for periods of time to preserve the integrity of the entire grid.