Rolling blackouts cut power for thousands of South Dakotans Tuesday. One of the nation’s multi-state power grids could not keep up with electrical demand from extremely cold temperatures. Energy companies asked the public to reduce their use to avoid further power outages.
Sarah Carlson lives in Canton with her husband and two sons. She says they didn’t think twice about doing their part.
“You know, it might bother us for a couple hours or for the overnight, but if it saves a nursing home from having to turn off their heat and electricity or a hospital having to share electricity. And we have people of course, on ventilators and such because of COVID, I wouldn't want to be the person that overused my electricity to someone else's detriment.”
Carlson’s family did simple things like turning off lights and heat in rooms they weren’t using. They wore extra layers of clothing and blankets to stay warm. Carlson says the experience was a good lesson for her children.
“Definitely teaching my kids that if you can help your neighbor, you should help your neighbor. If there's somebody that needs assistance, if there's somebody that you see that needs help, you need to do that, you know, that's your duty.”
Temperatures are expected to rise through the week. That will reduce the energy demand. But several utilities say some areas of the state could still face problems Wednesday.