Janesville asks utility customers to avoid using air conditioning

Janesville is asking customers not to use air conditioning as generator problems persist in the city.

The town reached the maximum load available for generation Sunday, according to a Facebook post on Monday.

“The current reality is staff is exhausted and continuing to push forward with generation,” says the post.

The city explained that the generator that is currently unavailable is the second largest in the fleet, so engineers are trying to get it back in operation.

The city says it’s imperative for customers to avoid using air conditioning because if the maximum capacity for the available generators is exceeded, service in parts of Janesville without critical infrastructure will be shut down.  Lift stations, well pumps, and senior living are considered critical, according to the city.

“This is the LAST decision that we want to make, but it very well could come to that,” the post continues.  “Substantial outages are a very real possibility.”

The city says it is trying to leverage every available resource to get the situation back to normal.

Janesville was plagued by generator issues earlier this summer, according to this article by the Mankato Free Press.