The Newport Plain Talk

NEWPORT-Newport Utilities engineer Jimmy Robertson praised local consumers for their help in conserving the demands on the company's resources during last weekend's bitterly cold weather.

"There were no load-related outages over the weekend," said Robertson. "All of your cooperation and conservation of electricity has worked to avoid any overloads. However, we have more cold weather in the forecast for Wednesday morning that could create problems if we are not cautious. It remains crucial that we conserve as much as possible anytime temperatures drop to 20 degrees or below."

"At this time, Newport Utilities requests everyone to limit their use of electricity between 6:30-9:30 a.m. on Wednesday," Robertson continued.

According to Robertson, service areas of greatest concern continue to be Edwina, Cosby, Jones Cove, Grassy Fork, and Hartford communities. "Basically all NU customers south of the National Guard Armory and customers along North Hwy. 321 from Parrottsville toward Greeneville, including the Salem community, should be especially careful," he added.

Robertson said these areas are where the power system has had problems due to overload conditions during extreme cold weather in the past.

"Thanks to your efforts, the system has remained just under the overload level," Robertson said. "By each of us saving energy during these morning hours, we can avoid power outages for everyone."

Robertson urged customers to turn off all unused lights and appliances and to limit cooking time and use of hot water as much as possible.