As of noon on Saturday, REC has restored more than 90 percent of the power outages caused by Winter Storm Freya.
With assistance from contract crews and field personnel from nine other electric cooperatives, REC's teams have restored more than 26,000 outages in fewer than three days, and they continue to make repairs and restore service on Saturday. Some locations experienced more than one outage on the first day of the storm as ice or falling trees and limbs damaged equipment after an initial power restoration.
Most outages caused by Freya should be restored by Saturday evening, however some are expected to linger into Sunday. Snow, sleet and freezing rain expected into Saturday evening could lead to additional outages.
Crews continue to face challenges including blocked roads. In many cases, they are having to cut their way into rural roads to reach damage sites and then carry equipment by hand through uphill rights-of-ways. Because heavy bucket trucks are not able to reach some damage sites, in some cases linemen are also manually climbing power poles to make needed repairs.
As of midday Saturday, crews had discovered 64 broken poles, most of which have been repaired or replaced, and they expect to find more as restoration continues.
Looking ahead, accumulating heavy, wet snow is forecast for Tuesday, which could cause additional power outages.
What to do before the storm:
- Consider a secondary heating source such as a generator (see important safety tips below).
- Gather any extra blankets, bedding, sleeping bags, sweaters and other warm clothing.
- Find a complete list of emergency items REC recommends you assemble ahead of the storm: myrec.coop/stormprep.
- If someone in your home requires electricity for a serious medical condition, review your backup plan for an alternate location with power that you can rely on during an outage.
Other steps you can take now:
- Bookmark REC’s outage center: myrec.coop/outagecenter.
- Remember that you can now report your outage by texting OUT to 63273.
- You also can use your mobile phone or devices to report an outage at myrec.coop/out or report an outage in the MyREC SmartHub mobile app.
- It’s important to report your power outage, even if you think someone in your neighborhood has already reported it.
Important safety reminders:
- If you see a downed power line, always assume it is energized and dangerous. Stay away from the line and anything that might be in contact with it. Call 911 and contact REC at 800-552-3904 to report downed power lines.
If your backup power plan includes using a generator, be sure to follow all safety guidelines including:
- Isolate your generator from REC’s power lines. Connect appliances or other devices directly to the generator with the appropriate cords.
- If you connect it directly to your building's wiring, a generator transfer switch is required to separate your generator from the co-op's system.
- Take care when fueling your generator. Never refuel the unit while it's operating.
- Provide adequate ventilation and air cooling for the generator to prevent overheating and the accumulation of toxic fumes. Do not install your generator in a closed area. Exhaust gases contain carbon monoxide, which is poisonous.
