Restoring Power
Public Service always strives to restore power safely and as quickly as possible. In order to do so, it is important that we plan ahead, carefully assess the situation and follow a standard restoration process.
Being Prepared for Outages
Storms can come quickly and cause wide-spread power outages. That's why we prepare well in advance when severe weather threatens our area — making sure equipment is working and supplies are stocked. We track the path of the storm to identify parts of our service area that may be affected. We also determine whether additional assistance may be needed from contractors or neighboring utilities.
Assessing the Situation
Safety of the public, as well as those working on the lines, is always our first priority. The first step to ensuring safety is to locate downed power lines and make sure electricity is no longer flowing through the wires and make the scene safe. You should always assume that downed power lines are energized and dangerous. Consider any object touching lines energized as well.
Getting Your Power Back On
Typically, Public Service attempts to restore power, as follows (many of which occur simultaneously):
- Emergency and Essential Services - Efforts to restore power to agencies that protect the health and safety of the public clearly need to be a priority. These include hospitals, police departments, fire departments, water treatment facilities and pumping stations.
- Transmission Lines, Substations and Distribution Lines - Transmission lines carry electricity from the generation stations to substations. The substations then reduce the high-voltage power from the transmission lines for use in homes. Distribution lines carry the electricity from the substation to neighborhoods and commercial areas. Repairing damage to these three components is necessary to restore power to our customers.
- Service Lines - Repairs are then made to service lines to individual homes and businesses. This is the most time-consuming part of the restoration process.
After a power outage, if you notice that your neighbor's power is back on and yours is not, please call 800-450-7240. There may be a problem with your individual service line or your meter.