Earlier today, AEP Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) customers in Bossier Parish, near Benton, woke up to no power.

Due to some equipment failure, the outage could last until tomorrow (Friday) morning!

Now,  SWEPCO is trying to avoid the use of rolling blackouts for the rest of us.

They are asking everyone to conserve power by turning off unnecessary lighting or electric appliances... and to limit use of you air conditioning by setting the thermostat up to 80.

You can also help by waiting until later in the evening to run your washer, dryer, and oven.

SWEPCO is asking your help because of the extreme heat, increased demand for power, and some issues with power plants and the electric system.

According to CEO Venita McCellon-Allen, "At this point, we anticipate being able to meet the demand. However, the availability of power from our generating units or from other utilities, as well as other electric system conditions, could change in these extreme weather conditions, so we are asking for our customers' cooperation. We know that cutting back on electrical use, especially air conditioning, can be inconvenient and uncomfortable. But when everyone does something to help out, our combined efforts can help reduce overall demand for electricity and ease this emergency situation."

For a list of any currunt outages, visit the SWEPCO home page.

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