How we restore power
During outages, our crews work to restore your power as quickly as possible.
- Prepare for Outages
We work year-round to ensure our electric system is safe, reliable and well maintained. Although we regularly repair and upgrade our electric system and trim or remove trees growing near the power lines, we can’t prevent every outage.
When a storm causes multiple outages, we prioritize repairs to get the largest number of customers back on first.
Here’s how:
- First, we repair any damaged transmission lines. These lines bring power to our electrical system from outside generation sources like Bonneville Dam. Line crews from BPA and PGE are called in whenever transmission lines owned by these organizations need repair.
- Next, we repair our substations, which transfer power from transmission lines to the main distribution lines that carry power throughout our service area.
- After the substations are repaired, we turn our attention to our main distribution lines, and then to tap lines, which carry electricity from the main distribution lines to smaller groups of customers.
- Once all distribution lines and tap lines are repaired, we begin working on service lines, which typically bring power to only one or two locations.
Restoring power after a major storm can be a big job. Although we can’t always restore everyone’s power in an hour or two, you can be assured we’re working as quickly as possible to get your lights back on.