High temperatures cause problems for the JNEC

The continued heat is causing problems for everyone, including the Jasper Newton Electric Cooperative. Joey Davis of the member owned power cooperative said Monday that there have been several outages caused by the hot weather. According to Davis, the cooperative suffers from two main problems in hot weather and that is the high temperatures and increased electrical load brought about by increased and continuous use of air conditioning causes some lines to sag. Davis said that was very evident when the conditions cause more than one outage in recent days in areas along Highway 96 north of Jasper. However, Davis said workers were finally able to find where the electrical fault occurred and took preventive measures to insure that it does not happen again. David and others have said that in addition to presenting an additional burden on power lines, the hot temperatures also cause problems for lineman and others who are responsible for restoring and maintaining the dependable flow of electricity to local homes and businesses. Davis said he wants everyone to know that the JNEC is doing everything to keep the power flowing and will continue to do so. Davis said the good news is that so far there have been no shortages in electric power like other systems have experienced on the west coast and other areas. Davis says residents should continue to do everything they can to try to hold their electric bills down such as keeping drapes and blinds closed, and keep doors closed tightly.  Residents are also encouraged to keep clean filters in their air conditioners to increase flow.