Because of unprecedented demand, limited generation and other issues related to the arctic cold, Santee Cooper is implementing temporary, managed and coordinated rolling outages across the state to reduce grid strain and avoid a more severe situation.
The process involves scheduling short outages affecting one area at a time, moving across the Santee Cooper’s retail and wholesale systems, including Berkeley Electric Cooperative. The outages will last up to 30 minutes for Berkeley Electric members.
Santee Cooper and the state’s electric cooperatives continue to urge their customers and member-owners to conserve energy, including:
- Turning off your heating system’s emergency heat/auxiliary heat.
- Lowering thermostat settings to 68 degrees or cooler.
- Avoiding the use of energy-intensive appliances, such clothes dryer, water heater, dishwasher, and hair dryer, especially between 6 a.m. till 9 a.m.
- Unplugging devices and electronics.
Santee Cooper has already taken several other steps to protect system reliability, and rolling outages are a last resort. The utility is working to minimize the impact of these interruptions and restore normal operations as quickly as possible.
We understand that even a brief power outage can be uncomfortable. Please know Berkeley Electric is working closely with our power supplier, Central Electric, to resolve this issue as soon as possible.
- Load curtailment is reducing the amount of electricity being used to balance supply and demand. When electricity supply is low and can’t keep pace with consumer demand, rolling outages help balance the electric grid to prevent widespread, uncontrolled outages.
- Frigid temperatures often trigger increased demand for electricity. If there are already constraints on the amount of power that is available, regional grid operators may implement rolling power outages to protect the electric grid from widespread damage.
- A rolling power outage is a planned, controlled outage that moves from one area to the next. Rolling outages are designed to be brief so power isn’t out for too long in one location.
Typically, electricity is available at the flip of a switch. But you may not realize the electricity you use is forecasted, planned, and purchased before it makes its way to your home or business. The electric grid must be maintained at a certain frequency. When extreme temperatures drive up electricity demand, the grid may not be able to keep pace. That’s why rotating temporary outages can help rebalance the grid, without having to shutdown larger, widespread areas. Rolling outages are a last resort but prevent serious damage to the grid.
If you receive an alert that rolling outages are possible, you can help by reducing your energy
use. The best area to conserve is your thermostat. Lower it to 68 degrees (or cooler) and avoid
using energy-intensive appliances, such as clothes dryers, water heaters, and dishwashers.
You can also unplug any unused electrical items.
- If a temporary outage occurs, Berkeley Electric, as your local distribution cooperative, was mandated to take a certain amount of power offline to maintain the integrity of our equipment and systems because the overall demand for electricity exceeded the supply.
- BEC is not the only utility mandated to take services offline. Others served by our local balancing authority Santee Cooper were also required to take a certain percentage of their system down to help lower the demand and balance it with the available supply.
- The increasing concern and reality of generation shortfalls to support the reliability we promise and provide is on the minds of Berkeley Electric’s leadership, the state’s cooperative leadership, and the nation’s cooperative leadership. We are working with other co-ops in South Carolina to invest in future generation that is fiscally responsible and provides less exposure/risk for our members. Our generation-and-transmission co-op, Central Electric Power Cooperative, is working to coordinate the best solution for reliable, low-cost power for members by aggregating the best prices and solutions for a diversified portfolio of power generation.
- Look at our Integrated Resource Plan on our website to see how we’re preparing.
- Invest in your home’s energy efficiency to save money and ensure your comfort.
- Programming your appliances and tools to run at a time when electricity is not in high demand helps your co-op keep rates affordable and offsets the need for more generation.
- Managing your use of electricity by updating appliances, relying on technology and becoming more efficient helps your co-op better prepare for the future and saves you money.