It was so cold across the nation that it even snowed in New Orleans, Louisiana. As a native of southeastern Louisiana, I can confidently say that’s as rare as seeing a crawfish in a parka or eating a po' boy sandwich with coleslaw – which is a strange culinary practice I’ve only seen attempted in Colorado.
Pro tip: Don’t ever ask for a po' boy with coleslaw in New Orleans. Ask for it ‘dressed’ and you’re golden.
While snow is much more common in Colorado Springs, several days of sub-zero weather can test even the hardiest among us, as well as the utility services we all rely upon.
Despite subzero temperatures and high demand over the past week, our natural gas, electric, water and wastewater systems performed well with no major service disruptions.
Energy demand
While we didn’t reach our all-time winter electric peak of 843 megawatts (MW) set in January 2024, we did come close on Monday with 825 MW. It was only the third time we surpassed 800 MW of demand during the winter.
Managing cost and reliability
We’ll know more about financial implications from this weekend’s weather in the coming days, but we do not expect impacts to customer rates.
This level of reliability and cost management can be directly attributed to the excellent pre-event work of our dedicated and talented employees, particularly those on our Fuels and Purchased Power and Operations teams.
Additionally, our power plant employees worked around the clock over the holiday weekend – amid trying weather conditions – to keep generating units running and customers in power.
Secured $1 million in cost savings
Thanks to employee efforts, we estimate we saved customers more than $1 million by having natural gas resources in storage rather than purchasing them on the market.
Extreme weather and your utility bill
Several days of single-digit temperatures can have a big impact on how we use energy in our homes and ultimately what we pay on our monthly bill. Visit us at csu.org for home efficiency tips and rebates.
If you have trouble paying your utility bill, take a few minutes to review our customer assistance programs and how they may fit your situation.
