With frigid temperatures straining the power supply, the Tennessee Valley Authority is asking consumers to reduce their use as much as possible.

“We do ask that our members reduce their usage as much as possible to help ensure a continued supply of power to essential services throughout the Tennessee Valley and to avoid interruptions in service,” Kim Phelps, a spokeswoman for Warren Rural Electric Cooperative Corp, said in an email.

The Tennessee Valley Authority asked consumers to reduce their use beginning at 3 p.m. Tuesday until further notice, according to a news release.

Bowling Green Municipal Utilities recommends consumers put off running dishwashers, dryers and cooking equipment. It also recommends lowering thermostats a few degrees and switching off non-essential lights, appliances and other electrical equipment.

In addition to those energy-conservation tips, Phelps recommends making sure chimney dampers are closed to avoid leaking warm air, sealing in warm air with caulk, expanding foam and weather stripping and regular HVAC maintenance.

More energy efficiency tips are available online at wrecc.com.

Warren RECC recommends consumers prepare for possible outages by having an alternative heat source or moving to another location. The elderly or those who use medical equipment should also be prepared with another power source.

“Over the 3 days of the last storm, we had approximately 15 outage events affecting approximately 3,000 members over our entire eight-county service area,” Phelps said in the email.

Should an outage occur, consumers should call 270-843-9710 inside Warren County and 888-604-4321 for outages outside the county.