SHREVEPORT, La. (7 a.m. February 16, 2021) – Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO) has temporarily interrupted power to parts of its service area as part of an emergency procedure to reduce load on the electric system and prevent wider-area outages. 

SWEPCO is rotating the areas affected by the controlled outages so customers are not without service for more than a few hours whenever possible. The amount of time required to restore service could be delayed in some cases due to system and weather conditions. The temporary outages should not affect critical public health and public safety facilities.

SWEPCO is taking this action at the direction of Southwest Power Pool, the electric grid operator for 14 states. The action is necessary because of heavy load on the regional electric grid due to extreme temperatures across the region.

Before taking this emergency step, SWEPCO cut back on its own use and requested large industrial and commercial customers to reduce their non-critical use.

SWEPCO is asking those customers who have service during the rotating outages to continue conserving energy until further notice. Use energy needed for personal safety and to protect against property damage. Minor adjustments to thermostats, plus reduced use of lighting and appliances, can make a significant difference to the overall electric system.

SWEPCO will provide updates through the news media, on www.swepco.com, and on the company’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

SPP is a regional transmission organization: a not-for-profit corporation mandated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to ensure reliable supplies of power, adequate transmission infrastructure and competitive wholesale electricity prices on behalf of its members. SPP manages the electric grid across 17 central and western U.S. states and provides energy services on a contract basis to customers in both the Eastern and Western Interconnections. The company’s headquarters are in Little Rock, Arkansas. Learn more at SPP.org.

[NOTE: SWEPCO customers in East Texas and the Panhandle also may hear advisories from neighboring grid operator Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which serves much of the rest of the state and is a separate reliability grid from SPP. SWEPCO is not part of ERCOT.]