Update: Evergy Rolling Blackouts

Update 2/16 7:44AM CST: Evergy says they're resuming rolling black outs that will last 30 to 60 minutes. Customers who wind up without power for more than an hour are asked to call Evergy at 888-544-4852.

Update: According to a post on Evergy's Facebook page, 60,000 customers lost power for approximately 30 minutes as the power company implemented planned outages to reduce stress on the Southwest Power Pool electrical supply. Evergy says all customers affected by the outage have had power restored. The electric utility says additional rolling blackouts may be necessary in the coming days.

Update: According to a Facebook post from Johnson County Emergency Management Agency, an Evergy representative told them that scheduled power outages for Monday February 15 have been completed. Evergy told Johnson County EMA that these outages may continue for several days and include areas in Johnson County.

Evergy is warning customers that The Southwest Power Pool is asking member electric utilities, including Evergy, to implement controlled power outages "to help avoid larger uncontrolled and extended power outages throughout the region." This according to an Evergy news release.

Evergy began rolling blackouts lasting 30 - 60 minutes to blocks of customers today at approximately 12:15PM CST.

According to Evergy:

Once the period has concluded, power will be restored to the impacted area. The emergency outages will then rotate to another portion of Evergy’s service area. Power will cycle off and on periodically until the reduction is no longer required by the SPP. With these extreme cold temperatures, equipment may not operate as intended. As a result, outages could last longer than 30 - 60 minutes.

Those customers who experience a rolling blackout do not need to report the outage and should check Evergy's outage map and Evergy.com/outageinfo for more information. Those customers who experience an outage of over one hour are asked to report their outage on Evergy's website or by calling 888-544-4852.

Some things Evergy says customers can do to reduce stress on the power grid and reduce the chances of Evergy needing to cut power to customers include:

Turn thermostats a little cooler (65-68 degrees). Avoid the use of electric space heaters.
Close blinds and shades to reduce the amount of heat lost through windows.
Turn off unnecessary lights and appliances
When possible, delay non-essential uses of energy washing drying clothes, washing dishes and bathing to non-peak hours, between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Use low-temperature cooking methods and avoid opening the oven door if it’s on.

Evergy says it is working with it's large commercial and industrial customers to reduce energy usage this week. The company has reduced electricity use at Evergy facilities, implemented cold-weather procedures, and adapted operations at its power plants to keep equipment working and fuel available to generate electricity for customers.

You can check out Evergy's news release here.