Answering Your Hurricane Outage Repair Questions
Posted: June 1, 2018 at 1:00 am
PrintIn September 2017, Hurricane Irma roared through the heart of Peace River Electric Cooperative’s service area leaving us with nearly 200 broken poles, more than 60 damaged transformers and miles of downed power lines. Afterward, every PRECO employee, five contractors and workers from 12 out-of-state electric co-ops joined forces and restored power to our 40,000-plus meters in 8 days.
During this time, our members had a lot of questions about power restoration and safety. As we approach the 2018 Hurricane Season, I’d like to address the most common questions.
When will my power come back on?
Unfortunately, no one can accurately answer this question. The answer isn’t simple and we don’t want to mislead you by guessing. When damage is extensive, making repairs is like peeling an onion. As crews make repairs, they often find other problems which must be fixed before the lights can come back on. Our goal is to restore power as quickly as possible without compromising the safety of our members and crews.
What if I have a power line down in my yard?
Never touch downed power lines. Don’t risk your life by moving lines or anything entangled in the lines. To report downed lines and hazards, call us at 1-800-282-3824.
What if I have a medical issue?
After a hurricane, power could be off for days or even longer. If you are dependent on electric-powered medical equipment and have no power backup system, consider relocating until after the crisis and power is restored.
Why don’t I see trucks in my area?
Power restoration begins at our substations, where we receive power from the statewide grid, and is systematically carried outward to the end of our power lines. Crews may need to repair another location before your section of the power lines will work again. Crews are working, even if you don’t see them in your area yet.
What’s the best way to get updates after a storm?
Sometimes a natural disaster brings down all means of telecommunications. Also, it would be physically impossible to answer every call if over 40,000 people were calling to get power restoration updates. However, we have communication tools in place to update you. For the latest storm and repair information:
- Visit our website at www.preco.coop
- Like PRECO’s Facebook page
- Follow @PeaceRiverEC on Twitter
- View our online Outage Map at http://outage.preco.coop
- Update your phone number and email address with us before the storm, in case we need to contact you
Our lineworkers work 16-hour shifts to restore service after a hurricane because they know you’re counting on them. And, they won’t stop until everyone’s power is restored.
Randy Shaw
PRECO CEO