Update: We Energies says natural gas is returning to levels where customers can resume normal use

We Energies spokesman Brendan Conway said in a statement that because customers complied with his Friday night request to lower thermostats to 62 or lower, no customers lost the ability to heat their homes. home.

“We really appreciate our customers’ understanding throughout this event,” said Conway.

Amid sub-zero temperatures, more than a million We Energies customers across Wisconsin are being urged to conserve natural gas due to pipeline malfunction

We Energies asked customers to immediately turn their thermostats to 62 degrees or lower on Friday night to avoid a widespread service outage.

Guardian Pipeline notified customers on Friday that it has restricted northbound gas flow on one of its interstate pipelines due to unscheduled maintenance at an Illinois compressor station.

We Energies spokesman Brendan Conway said Guardian had cut gas supplies by 30%.

Conway said the utility was tapping into liquefied gas and propane storage facilities and had reduced gas deliveries to commercial customers whose contracts allow service interruptions. But due to extreme cold in most of the country, the utility is unable to obtain gas from other pipeline providers.

A spokesperson for the pipeline company said one of the two faulty valves was restored Friday evening and crews were working on the second to restore capacity “in a timely manner”.

We Energies said it would reassess the situation and notify customers on Saturday. No update had been provided as of 6 a.m. Saturday.

In addition to lowering thermostats, the company asked residents to avoid using secondary gas heaters, ovens, stoves and clothes dryers.

The National Weather Service was predicting low temperatures of zero to 14 below in Wisconsin on Friday night and mostly single-digit highs, with much of the state under a wind chill advisory.