Southwest Power Pool To Give Update On Feb. Winter Storm, Power Crisis

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission will get an update on the power crisis during February's historic winter storm from regional power grid manager, Southwest Power Pool. News 9's Colby Thelen has details on what we can expect.

Thursday, March 18th 2021, 5:37 am

By: Colby Thelen

Southwest Power Pool Inc. plans to provide the Oklahoma Corporation Commission with an update on February’s winter storms at a special meeting.

On Thursday, SPP Executive Vice President and COO, Lanny Nickell, will appear before the commission over a videoconference call. The meeting will be open to the public.

SPP manages the power grids for 17 states. The company says each was impacted by the brutal cold that swept across the nation back in February.

The demand on the grid led to calls for conservation and two days that saw controlled outages.

Many Oklahomans went without power for an hour or more in record-breaking temperatures.

The company blamed the need for rolling blackouts on increased usage and limited production of new energy, particularly a low supply of natural gas.

The company says the curtailment was done to prevent more widespread blackouts.

President and CEO Barbara Sugg said she was proud of how SPP handled the event but said there is a lot to learn from it.

In a statement, she added, "We will learn, adapt and be better prepared for the future."

The special meeting begins at 11 a.m. on Thursday.