What if an explosion like in Broken Bow happens at an LES power plant?
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A Broken Bow power plant erupted in flames after an explosion Thursday, leaving thousands without power for hours during dangerously cold temperatures.
“A bad day for those folks,” said Jim Dutton with Lincoln Electric System.
Channel 8 is diving into Lincoln’s protocols for such emergencies.
LES has three natural gas-fired plants in the Lincoln area, all serving different regions, all serving the same purpose and all equipped to serve a higher supply than the demand.
Courtesy: LES
Dutton said the Rokeby they play a key role in severe weather.
“On times where it gets super cold or it gets hot in the summer, there’s a lot of power that flows on the lines that they can’t get economically,” said Dutton, director of generation operations.” That’s when our local generation units get dispatched and we come online.”
It would take a lot to put all of Lincoln out of power because the capital city has so many different energy sources.
LES not only has those three gas-fired plants, but three coal plants it can take from and several wind farms.
Dutton says it’s critical to have multiple sources. If one fails, LES just switches to another.
“Having multiple connections to the larger grid as well as multiple generation sites scattered around the region ensures maximum reliability for our customers,” Dutton said.
