Santee Cooper Prepares for Winter Weather and Offers Energy-Saving Tips
MONCKS CORNER, S.C. – Santee Cooper personnel are making preparations for the effects anticipated winter weather may have on Santee Cooper’s customers. Approximately 2 million South Carolinians depend on the state-owned electric and water utility as their power source, either directly or through the state’s electric cooperatives.
As of noon today, Santee Cooper moved to Operating Condition (OpCon) 4 alert status. This means there is a possible threat to Santee Cooper’s electric system, but effects may be limited or uncertain.
At OpCon 4, the utility is primarily:
- Completing freeze protection checklists for generating station equipment.
- Preparing to have additional personnel on site at generating stations in the event of road closures, and securing additional personnel, including contractors, for transmission and distribution crews.
- Checking and fueling vehicles, including line trucks.
- Checking inventory and procuring supplies as needed, such as utility poles, electric transformers and associated equipment.
“Santee Cooper is monitoring the weather and preparing accordingly to help us be best positioned to keep the lights on for all of our customers across the state,” said Vicky Budreau, Chief Customer Officer. “In addition, the extreme cold weather means customers will be using more electricity. As a result, bills may increase. We encourage customers to be aware of their energy use and implement energy-saving measures to help combat higher bills.”
Heating is responsible for much of the increased electricity used during extended cold weather. Heat pumps work harder and longer to make up the difference in temperatures, which increases electricity use. Cold and freezing temperatures also may cause your emergency heat, or heat strips, to activate, which uses more electricity.
Customers can take the following steps to help use less energy while staying comfortable in their homes:
- Set the thermostat to 68 degrees or lower during winter weather.
- Stay warm by bundling up with sweatshirts, sweaters, socks, slippers and/or blankets.
- Seal air leaks around windows and doors to prevent cool air from coming into your home and warm air from escaping.
- Open curtains or blinds to let in the sun’s heat during daylight hours and close window coverings at night to help keep out drafts.
- Set usage alerts in Santee Cooper’s My Energy Link (MEL) app. Using MEL, customers also can see how much electricity they’re using, so they are not caught off guard when the bill comes.
- Change your air filters regularly. Dirty air filters cause your heat pump to work harder.
In addition, fuel costs also may increase with higher electricity use across the entire Southeast. Many electric utilities, including Santee Cooper, vary their fuel charges to customers based on actual decreases or increases in fuel costs. As electric demand increases during cold weather, more fuel is used to generate the electricity needed to keep up with the higher that higher demand.
Customers can report outages and find information on storm safety, including generator and downed power line safety, at stormcenter.santeecooper.com.. Customers also can report outages at 888-769-7688.
