As snow sticks around and the mercury continues to fall throughout the region, multiple utility companies are urging their customers to conserve as much energy as possible to reduce the strain on power systems.

Lows this week dipped in the single digits. The region’s latest cold spell was preempted by heavy rains last weekend and prolonged snowfall Tuesday night, lasting into the wee hours of Wednesday morning. Multiple inches of snow fell followed by a second round of the white stuff Wednesday night.

School districts across the region were closed Wednesday and Thursday and crews with Bowling Green Public Works were busy clearing roads.

According to a forecast from the National Weather Service’s office in Louisville, the mercury is not expected to rise above freezing until the weekend.

Bowling Green Municipal Utilities recommends residents to turn their thermostats down to a temperature that is “just warm enough to keep you comfortable, and then consider turning it down a degree.”

BGMU also suggests using fans in concert with heat and maximizing loads in large appliances to save energy.

Residents are urged to lower the temperature of their water heaters to 120 degrees and for laundry needs, recommended to wash clothes with cold water. Other suggestions include turning off lamps after leaving a room and opening curtains to allow sunlight to heat homes naturally.

“This is a precautionary measure,” BGMU head Mark Iverson stated in a release. “Together with TVA, we are proactively taking steps to reduce energy consumption by asking our customers to take small practical steps that can have a big impact on our preparation to meet the demand for electricity.”

Atmos Energy recommends cleaning snow and ice off of gas meters with brooms or brushes to keep them working smoothly. Kicking snow and ice off or using a hard object to remove accumulation is not recommended.

Atmos also suggests setting household thermostats to 68 degrees during the day and lowering it to 58 degrees while no one is home.

Other suggestions include leaving a drip on faucets to lower the risk of pipes freezing and clearing items away from gas vents which, if obstructed, could lead to a build up of carbon monoxide.

Using ovens or stovetops to heat homes is also not recommended.

School closures continued Thursday. Bowling Green Independent and Warren County Public school districts both opted for a non-traditional instruction (NTI) day Thursday and Western Kentucky University canceled classes and closed all of its campuses.

Simpson County, Logan County, Allen County-Scottsville, Glasgow Independent, Barren County, Butler County and Russellville Independent school districts all opted for an NTI day on Thursday as well.