Polar vortex, fire leaves Midwest utilities asking customers to turn down thermostats amid bitter blast

Record-breaking cold from the polar vortex, combined with a fire at a gas compressor station in Michigan, is causing utility companies in the Midwest to ask customers to turn thermostats down, even as bitter conditions drag on. The blaze at the Consumers Energy natural gas compressor station north of Detroit on Wednesday prompted Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to ask all residents in the Lower Peninsula part of the state to lower thermostats to 65 degrees or below through Friday. -- MORE...