BY NICOLE ASBURY and LUCIE KRISMAN
Updated 4:30 p.m.
Mayor Tim Reazin said the city is sanding major roads and intersections where possible. Due to extreme temperatures, ice removal is currently on hold as salting roads would add an additional sheet of ice.
Updated 4:20 p.m.
All Evergy customers who lost power due to rolling blackouts throughout Kansas had their power restored, but the energy company warned it may be required to conduct additional planned power outages in the coming days.
Roughly 60,000 Evergy customers lost their power for 30 minutes Monday afternoon, according to a tweet from the company.
Updated 4:15 p.m.
Kansans must cut down on gas and electricity usage to ensure the state can make it through subzero temperatures in the coming days, Gov. Laura Kelly said at a news conference Monday afternoon.
Wind turbines and coal plants across the Midwest have had more difficulty producing energy due to the low temperatures, said Kansas Corporation Commission Chairperson Andrew French during the news conference. While there is gas for everyone, there’s an increase in price, French said.
The abnormally low winter temperatures led to an unprecedented demand in electricity, causing a supply issue, French said.
“This is not a Kansas issue,” French said. “This will be impacting every utility and every state in this region.”
French encouraged Kansas residents to conserve energy safely over the next 48 to 72 hours.
Energy companies rolled out planned power outages in service areas throughout Monday afternoon to conserve energy. French said those have now ended, and KCC is hopeful that will provide adequate energy supply.
But more rolling blackouts could potentially take place in the coming hours, as demand for electricity increases during Monday evening and Tuesday morning.
“These would be coordinated,” French said. “The goal is for them to be 30 minutes to an hour in any geographic area, and power would go back on.”
Updated 4 p.m.
From the city: The city is aware of Evergy’s planned, controlled outages to maintain the reliability of the regional electrical system. As a wholesale customer, we have been notified of the real possibility of being impacted by the rolling blackouts. However, at this time, we are not impacted. Should the city be notified, we will issue a press release as soon as possible.
Updated 2:30 p.m.
Due to Presidents Day, city offices are closed. However, Mayor Tim Reazin said the city is currently investigating an underground water pipe break at 10th and Pine Street and is waiting to hear from the Kansas Municipal Energy Agency about the full extent of power outages in town as of 2 p.m.
City management analyst Jeff Rhodes said the water break is not currently impacting water service in town, but due to the frozen ground and hydraulics on heavy machinery, it will not be possible to fix it for another day or two.
Updated: 2:10 p.m.
Eudora residents may experience temporary power outages for roughly 30-60 minutes throughout Monday, after the Southwest Power Pool asked electric companies to roll out temporary energy reductions.
Evergy will begin turning off electricity for blocks of customers at a time, according to a news release from the energy company Monday afternoon. After roughly 30 to 60 minutes, then power will be restored to that block and another outage will move over to another service area.
Evergy will continue rolling power outages until the Southwest Power Pool no longer requires the temporary power reduction.
Customers who experience a power outage do not have to report it, unless the outage lasts longer than an hour. Around 2 p.m. Monday, Evergy’s outage map reported there were 848 active outages.
The University of Kansas canceled all its classes around 1:45 p.m. Monday at both its Lawrence and Edwards campus. Both in-person and remote classes were canceled, due to rolling blackouts throughout Kansas.
Prior story:
Eudora schools will be canceled Tuesday due to inclement weather, as Kansas was hit with hazardous winter weather through the weekend.
All district schools — including the Eudora-Desoto Technical Education Center — will be closed Tuesday, according to an email from the school district.
Breakfast and lunch will not be served Tuesday.
Custodial, 12-month and operations staff will receive more information from their supervisors for Tuesday.
The National Weather Service declared a wind chill warning until noon on Tuesday, after projecting wind chills could go as low as 35 degrees below zero in northeast Kansas.
Other organizations around Eudora canceled ongoing events in the flux of the dangerous winter weather.
The Harvesters Mobile Food Pantry canceled their scheduled food distribution Wednesday at the Eudora United Methodist Church. The next distribution is scheduled to take place March 17.
Rolling power outages are expected throughout Kansas Monday to help conserve natural gas and electricity, according to a news release from the Kansas Corporation Commission. The long stretch of extremely cold temperatures increased utility demand across the state, straining natural gas supply and potentially causing reliability issues.
“It’s in every Kansan’s best interest to conserve electricity and natural gas over the next few days when possible,” said KCC Chairperson Andrew French in a statement. “Reducing your usage will help ensure everyone continues to receive these services, and it will save you money on future utility bills.”
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly declared a state of disaster due to wind chill warnings Sunday afternoon.
The state governor advised to seal leaks around doors and windows, reduce the temperature on water heaters and hold off on doing chores to conserve energy.
Check back later for more on this developing story.
Reach reporter Nicole Asbury at eudoratimes@gmail.com.
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