Arlington, Lakeland Customers Asked To Voluntarily Curtail Power Usage During Summer Peak Hours

Reduced loads will minimize the need for mandatory rolling blackouts.

MLGW is asking all customers in Arlington, Lakeland and surrounding areas to voluntarily curtail their peak-hour electric use as part of the repair process for Substation 68, located at 10600 Highway 70. Reduced usage between the peak hours of 3 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. will minimize the need for mandatory rolling blackouts for customers served by the substation.

The need for voluntary curtailment comes in the aftermath of the July 11 equipment failure that severely damaged Substation 68, which serves more than 6,800 customers. Though power was restored to all customers, homes and businesses in that area are experiencing voltage issues as substation repairs continue.

Voluntarily curtailing power in Arlington, Lakeland and surrounding areas will reduce demand during summer peak hours and help balance electric load capacity, especially on high temperature days. If demand is too high, then MLGW will use, for the first time in recent history, mandatory rolling blackouts to accomplish the same reductions.

To that end, customers are asked to delay drying their clothes until after 8 p.m.; increase the temperature settings on thermostats to 80 degrees or higher; and run swimming pool pumps overnight instead of during the day among other energy-reduction measures.

Customers experiencing low voltage issues related to this incident should contact:

Customer Care Center for Residential Customers at 544-6549

Business Solutions Center for Commercial and Industrial Customers at 528-4270