How to help your co-op help you
September 2026
by Preston Knight, Contributing Writer
If a power outage occurs as summer winds down, your electric cooperative does not want to leave you in the cold.
That’s right: The cold can be a problem even in hot times.
The electrical condition known as cold-load pickup is a real challenge during extreme weather. It refers not to temperatures but to the state of the power supply. If power is out, the electrical load has run cold, so to speak. Although hot-load pickup would be equally as accurate, cold-load pickup became the industry’s standard term.
When outages occur in extreme hot or cold weather, there is the concern that, upon restoration of service, plugged-in devices will jolt to life simultaneously and overload the system. Electric devices tend to spread out their consumption over time. This all-at-once scenario can cause problems for a house: Have you ever tripped a breaker because too much was plugged in?
Now, if you consider your neighbors’ homes going through the same scenario, the problem moves upstream to your cooperative, immediately causing more outages.
During the summer, for example, you might have air conditioning on full blast. If the power is out and the house warms up, the air conditioning will want to turn back on when service is restored. Your neighbors’ air-conditioning systems and additional household appliances are likely to do the same.
Multiple systems turning on and running all at once can cause a sudden strain on power lines as they kick back on. Line-protection equipment can take the overloaded lines offline because the heavy loads appear similar to fault — much like a tree falling on power lines and causing the initial outage.
Similarly, cold-load pickup also occurs in the winter when families and businesses are running heating systems.
These problems can be prevented when members turn off their heating and air-conditioning systems, lights and appliances while the power is out, then turn them back on gradually after power has been restored.
This condition isn’t unique to any one electric co-op. It is a common occurrence during temperature extremes because of the high power demand drawn by furnaces and air conditioning systems.
By helping reduce the effects of cold-load pickup, you can play a part in restoring power as quickly as possible after the next outage.
Preston Knight is the communications manager for Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative.