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10 THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT POWER RESTORATION
Over the past few years, members have had questions about power outages and why it can take time to get the lights back on. Given our reliance on electricity, there’s simply never a good time to be without it. This month, I’d like to review our restoration process to help our members understand what may be happening behind the scenes. Here are 10 things you might not know about restoration:
1. We need you. When your power goes out, it might be just at your home or small section of a neighborhood. Even though our metering system automatically sends us a message that your power is out, there is a chance we may not know about it. We still rely on you to let us know if your power is out. Please contact us at 800-241-2468.
2. Our employees might be affected too. Since Oakdale Electric Cooperative (OEC) is a local electric cooperative, our employees are local too. They are your neighbors, friends, and familiar community volunteers. When you’re without power, our people might be as well.
3. It’s a team effort. Every one of OEC’s employees are working to get your power restored as soon as possible. Our consumer service specialists are taking your calls, engineers and field staff are surveying damage, our vegetation management team is clearing hazards, dispatchers are organizing crews, and communicators are keeping everyone informed of progress or potential dangers. When your power goes out, we all work together as quickly and safely as possible to get you back to normal.
4. We assess the situation first. Every outage is different, and we don’t know how dangerous it is or what equipment might need to be replaced. When responding to outages, we first need to see what happened, then figure out what materials we need and a plan for how to fix the problem(s) without compromising electric flow for the rest of our members. Continue reading...
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