Cold weather crunch— Liberty, Spire utilities announce use advisory, service interruptions

Thanks to an historic cold snap experienced in southwest Missouri last weekend and into this week, utility companies are warning of service reductions. Liberty utilities issued multiple press releases urging energy conservation, the most recent Tuesday morning asked that people conserve through the end of Tuesday Feb. 16. The release included the announcement that the company had entered Energy Emergency Alert Level 3. Level 3 includes the possibility of ‘required controlled service interruptions.”
The company said if more interruptions were required, they will interrupt service in blocks throughout their system, in approximately one-hour increments.
Spire announces service reduction
Natural gas supplier Spire issued a warning for all southwest Missouri commercial and industrial customers, announcing the energy operation will be curtailing natural gas service “due to extreme cold temperatures impacting supply.”
The company also implored customers to reduce gas usage to minimum levels necessary to protect buildings and inventory.
The request, however, “does not apply to hospitals, nursing homes, essential food processors and other human needs applications.”