We have come to expect that if we lose electric service it will be restored within a few hours at most. But when a devastating event, like a tornado, ice, or snowstorm causes major damage to a co-op’s system, longer outages cannot be helped. Crews work long, hard hours restoring service, but it’s a task that needs to be done methodically to be done safely.<\/p>\n
Every electric cooperative follows a basic principle when it comes to restoring power – priority goes to the lines that will get the most people back in service the quickest. This usually begins with main lines from the substations that can affect 200-600 members, and continues out to tap lines, which may affect 30 to 200 members, and then to individual service lines affecting just 1 to 5 members.<\/p>\n