MADISON, Wis. — We Energies customers are being asked to immediately lower their thermostats to help reduce natural gas usage following a “significant equipment failure” affecting one of the company’s suppliers.
In a statement on its website, We Energies said the pipeline is one of multiple supplies of its natural gas, but the frigid weather is further complicating the situation.
The statement did not provide further details about the cause of the outage or say which supplier was experiencing the issue, but spokesperson Brendan Conway told WTMJ-TV the issue with the affected pipeline is happening underground at one of its stations. That issue, he said, is reducing the amount of gas We Energies is getting from the supplier.
“On a normal day, if this was 30 degrees outside or this was October, none of this would be an issue,” he said, “but obviously usage across the state and really across the country is incredibly high right now as people are running their furnaces and also as natural gas generation is used to run power plants, including a number of them here in Wisconsin.”
The company is asking people to set thermostats to between 60 and 62 degrees, close blinds and drapes and reduce the use of natural gas appliances and heating sources like fireplaces. It expects the gas shortage to last through Friday and will “reassess” on Saturday.
In the meantime, We Energies said it has also been “drawing from its liquefied natural gas and propane storage facilities, and reducing natural gas to business customers who have agreed to special billing in these types of events.”
On Twitter Friday night, Britt Cudaback, a spokesperson for Gov. Tony Evers, said officials from the Public Service Commission and Wisconsin Emergency Management have briefed the governor on the situation.
“Our office will remain in close contact with local, state, and federal partners as we continue to closely monitor this situation,” Cudaback wrote.
We Energies serves more than 1.1 million natural gas customers in Wisconsin, including in portions of Adams, Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jefferson, Lafayette, Marquette, Richland and Rock counties.
RELATED: Gov. Evers declares statewide energy emergency as winter storm delays deliveries
The issue comes one day after Evers declared an energy emergency in Wisconsin due to fuel deliveries being limited by the winter storm that moved across the Midwest.
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