Midwest Energy is asking its Hays customers to conserve electricity on the afternoons of Monday and Tuesday between the hours of noon and 7 p.m.

The request is being issued following the downing of several key power lines in northwest Hays during a storm the evening of Aug. 13.

With several key lines out of service, Hays is being supplied using powerlines from the South and East.

Bill Dowling, Midwest Energy’s Vice President for Engineering and Energy Supply, said that under normal conditions, these other lines can easily meet the city’s power needs. But on Monday and Tuesday, with forecasted temperatures near 100 degrees, the company is asking customers to conserve power between peak hours of noon to 7 p.m., to ensure these lines don’t become overloaded.

“We would ask that people set their thermostats a few degrees higher than they normally would during those noon to 7 p.m. periods,” Dowling said. “If you can delay chores like using the clothes dryer, and maybe cook dinner on the stovetop instead of in the oven, those simple things will go a long way in helping us avoid overloading these lines.”

Most of the poles downed during the storm were replaced within 24 hours, but the 25 transmission poles downed along 230th Avenue are 65 to 75 feet tall, nearly double the size of the 40-foot tall poles seen throughout town. Spring and summer storms have damaged an extraordinary number of tall structures within Midwest Energy’s service area, depleting the company’s normal supplies of tall poles.

Midwest Energy will continue to monitor weather forecasts and alert customers if any additional conservation measures are needed until the line is back up.

— MWE