As we head into the colder, rainier months, we also head into outage season. This makes it a good time to share some information about the causes of outages and how we handle them.<\/p>\n
Outages can occur from a variety of causes: a vehicle crashing into a pole, an equipment failure, a squirrel getting into a spot it doesn’t belong, and so on. When we analyze outages, we look at them in terms of how they were caused, how many customers were affected, and how long the power was out.<\/p>\n
Typically, two categories cause more outages than the rest: vegetation and weather. More than one in four outages we’ve had so far this year has been caused by trees, branches, or other plant life. Ice, snow, and other weather events are the second-leading cause.<\/p>\n
In a typical year, outages from vegetation and weather would be responsible for most of the time our customers spend without power. This year, however, vandalism is the main culprit. Our Goble Substation was broken into and significantly damaged in July. In response, we made temporary changes to our system. This accounts for about half the time our customers have been without power.<\/p>\n
We are working to reduce the threat of vandalism on our system. We are also working hard to reduce the threat of vegetation by aggressively removing trees and branches growing near power lines and converting overhead lines to underground when practical.<\/p>\n
While we can’t control the weather, the steps we are taking to limit the impacts felt by vegetation should help in extreme weather conditions.<\/p>\n
We are proud to report that, thanks in part to our mitigation efforts, fewer than two out of every three customers have experienced an outage this year.<\/p>\n
That said, outages will still occur. When they do, our team works hard to safely restore power as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n
So please remember, the next time there’s an outage, the first thing you can do to help us respond quickly is let us know when your power goes out. If you lose power, please call us at (503) 397-1844 and be ready to tell us your name and service address. This helps us determine the extent and location of an outage. If it is an outage affecting a lot of customers, you may have to wait on hold. We apologize for the inconvenience but ask for your patience.<\/p>\n
Once we are aware of an outage, crews are immediately dispatched to diagnose and repair the problem. They don’t always have time to let the office know the cause of the outage, as their priority is restoring power.<\/p>\n
If a substation is down, crews need to re-energize the substation before they can move on to distribution lines, which carry power throughout our service territory. Re-energizing a distribution line can restore power to an entire neighborhood.<\/p>\n
Once those have been taken care of, crews can start working on service lines that deliver power to individual houses and businesses.<\/p>\n
If you see our trucks drive past your house, they’re not ignoring you; they’re looking for the trouble spot. Once they find it, they work to restore power to the largest number of customers first.<\/p>\n
During major storms, our linemen work around the clock to turn your power back on. The next time you lose power, please call us and trust that we are doing everything we can to get it turned back on for you as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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