LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Many of us have been cranking our heat and doing what we can to stay warm as winter weather hits the state— meanwhile, energy companies are keeping a close eye on any possible power outages.
"The big concern today is the winds," said Kacee Kirschvink with Entergy.
Kirschvink said winds could be gusty enough for trees to fall into power lines and cause outages throughout the city.
She added that ice accumulation is another concern, though it really just depends on how much we get.
"When you have a quarter of an inch accumulation on the branches. That's when we really start seeing outages. If you get to half an inch device, you're going to have outages you can just almost guarantee," Kirschvink explained.
She said that her crews are prepared to help with any power outages.
"We have prepared our systems, we've prepared our crews, we have made plans to have them on standby and be ready no matter where in the state," she described.
According to Kirschvink, there's enough power on the grid to meet the demand, but the equipment could malfunction because of extreme temperatures.
"While we anticipate having enough power, you never know if we lose a transformer if we lose the substation, well, then we're gonna have a power outage. But right now as far as the demand goes, we don't anticipate any issues there," she said.
SWEPCO also has crews ready to go, and spokesperson Tara Muck recommended having a backup plan to stay warm if you do lose power.
"Get the things that you need, such as an emergency kit, you know, think about an alternate source of heating," Muck said.
Muck said that customers can expect to see higher bills because of the low temperatures, so she recommends keeping your thermostat below 70 degrees.
"Set your thermostat on 68 and go from there, whatever your comfort level is," Muck explained.
"We want you to stay warm. We want you to be safe, and we're going to do everything we can to restore your power as quickly and safely as possible," Kirschvink said.
You can check live updates on outages at Entergy's website. Right now a little more than 4,000 customers are in the dark this evening.