YANKTON, S.D.(WNAX)- Electric utilities across the region had to react quickly this week with rolling blackouts to maintain the integrity of the grid.

Tom Glanzer with Northwestern Energy says it was a new situation for everyone.

The Southwest Power Pool had to make sudden adjustments to keep electric supply and demand in balance due to record cold weather across the middle of the country.

Glanzer says they used their auxiliary power plants to limit the outages in their service area.

Glanzer says they are building a smart grid system that will react more quickly if those measures are needed in the future.

The Southwest Power Pool has downgraded the emergency status but is calling for power conservation through the weekend.