"It has really pushed those substations to the max," Cushing residents urged to conserve energy amid excessive heat
CUSHING, Okla. (KFOR) -- The excessive heat is causing strains on power grids in small towns, especially Cushing. City officials there want residents to conserve power to help cool down substations until there is a break in the heat.
"The combination of heat and humidity seems like it’s worse this year than what it’s been in the past," said Kelly Young, a Cushing resident.
"It has really pushed those substations to the max," said Terry Brannon, the Cushing City Manager.
Brannon said the city has, what he calls five baby substations, to service residents.
One of the substations was overheating Wednesday.
"We had an issue where the oil was getting too hot," said Brannon.
On Wednesday, the fire department spent hours spraying the equipment with water.
Then on Thursday, the city had two sprinklers trying to keep them cool.
"I knew we hadn’t reached our peak for the day," said Mike Starks, the city's electrical superintendent.
Meanwhile, the city posted on Facebook, urging residents to conserve power.
"Maybe consider not using an electric stove until late or consider using a grill outside," said Brannon. "Maybe consider delaying laundry, drying a load of laundry."
Residents jumped into action, including the local bank.
"We have certain lights that we turn off that we don't necessarily need," said Young, who is also the facility manager at Blue Sky Bank.
The biggest difference was pushing up the thermostat.
"By keeping it just a few degrees warmer in the bank, hopefully it cuts down on the load a little bit," said Young.
"We love our neighbors enough that we’re willing to help each other," said Brannon.
On the east side of town, Cushing is building a $10 million substation.
"It should be able to handle the future loads as well as the loads that we are currently facing right now," said Starks.
It should be finished in April of 2024, because the city is waiting on power poles.
"When we ordered them, there was a 52-week waiting period... they should be here sometime in February," said Starks.