KALISPELL — Flathead Electric Cooperative is reporting power outages on Saturday morning in Northwest Montana.
As of 10 a.m., FEC was reporting approximately 1,500 members were being impacted by eight outages.
The latest power outage information can be found at https://outage.flathead.coop:8181/.
"FEC is hopeful to see parts of the Ashley Lake and Kila area start to come back on over the next few hours as crews work to sectionalize portions of that system and energize them as they can," a statement reads.
The Co-op statement notes the following:
"Challenges that arise in the electrical power distribution system during extremely cold weather are referred to as “cold loading.” One such challenge is the immediate spike in electrical demand that occurs as portions of the system are energized following an outage (when heaters and other electrical equipment all kick on at the exact same time). This immediate spike can equate to double the typical demand on those parts of the system, which makes it difficult to get those loads to hold. In these cases, our crews must physically sectionalize small portions of the system and re-energize them piece by piece, which prolongs the outage restoration process. These variables also make it difficult for FEC to provide estimated restoration times."
Members can help during periods of prolonged extreme cold. Reducing or delaying unnecessary electrical usage will ease the strain on the system and speed up the process of restoring power to everyone affected.
Members can also reduce or delay their electrical use related to:
- Washing and drying clothes
- Using dishwashers
- Running multiple ovens at once
- Powering multiple water heaters
- Charging unneeded battery-powered equipment, such as leaf blowers, electric vehicles, and re-chargeable drills
- Turning off unneeded lights
- Unplugging unneeded equipment, including Christmas lights and items not in use, such as unwatched TVs
(NOTE: This request is not related to a shortage of power. Our power supply has remained adequate through this cold snap. This precautionary measure reduces strain on the physical electrical distribution system, which helps the Co-op more effectively manage the record loads the area is experiencing due to prolonged extreme cold temperatures.)
FEC crews have been responding to small outages throughout the extreme weather conditions.
