For the first time in at least a decade, Alliant Energy is calling on a couple dozen of its customers in the Albert Lea area to cease natural gas usage. Today and Friday are expected to be two days of near peak usage.

With temperatures today forecast at a high of 3 degrees — with wind chill values between 17 below and 27 below — there are 19 customers in Albert Lea who have been asked to cease usage today. Another round of customers could be warned this morning about ceasing Friday usage.

Included in this Friday list are a couple of schools in the Albert Lea School District and at least three industrial users, said Scott Drzycimski, customer communications manager for Alliant Energy.

Drzycimski said the customers are part of an interruptible service program, which they sign up for voluntarily. In turn for receiving lower rates, they agree to have their service interrupted when requested so Alliant does not use more than the amount of natural gas it has contracted for.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Albert Lea Superintendent Mike Funk said the school district had not yet been contacted about being a part of the outage. If the district was called, it would switch over the school boilers to fuel oil, he said.

Students are also already scheduled to be out of classes Friday for a staff development day.

Drzycimski said most Alliant Energy customers are on a firm service, where if you need natural gas, you’re going to get it without interruptions.

He said the customers involved with the program were prepped that an interruption would likely happen this year because of the company re-negotiating some of its pipeline contracts.

The interruption is expected to be for a 24-hour period, from 9 a.m. today to 9 a.m. Friday, with the second possible interruption starting Friday morning and going into Saturday morning.

Drzycimski said if a customer decides to continue usage even though it is signed up for the program, there is a penalty.

Though he could not release the names of the specific customers affected, he said over the two days there are 31 customers in Albert Lea and 19 from Clarks Grove, Geneva, Hollandale, Maple Island and other cities such as LeRoy, Lyle and Rose Creek.

He said about one-third of the 19 customers outside of Albert Lea are grain dryers, which at this time of year would not feel much of an effect.

 

Did you know?

Through the end of December 2011, customer bills for natural gas were running about 18 percent lower than the same time in 2010, said Scott Drzycimski, customer communications manager for Alliant Energy.
He said this is in part because of the milder-than-normal weather, along with some contract changes and other things the company is doing to limit costs.