Why Power Outages Occur
WPS makes every effort to provide you with constant, reliable service, but sometimes conditions beyond our control can cause power outages. Learn more about the most common causes of power outages in our area.
Weather-Related Causes of Power Outages
- Lightning - Lightning is a common cause of outages during storms. Lightning strikes can hit our electrical equipment, causing you to lose power. Lightning can also strike trees, which may fall onto power lines and cause outages.
- Ice - Ice storms create a buildup of ice on power lines and on trees. The weight of the ice can cause tree limbs and entire trees to fall onto power lines, causing an outage.
- Wind - High winds may cause objects, such as fallen trees, to come in contact with power lines. If that happens, circuit breakers or other protective equipment will shut off the flow of power. Wind may also blow tree limbs or entire trees onto the power lines, causing the lines to fall to the ground, or breaking the lines and poles.
- Rain and Flooding - Heavy rains can cause flooding in certain areas. Floods can cause damage to both above-ground and underground electrical equipment. To prevent major damage, WPS may need to shut the equipment down, affecting service to some customers.
Other Causes of Power Outages
- Car Accidents - Car accidents can cause power outages, as they sometimes result in broken poles, causing power lines to break or touch.
- Animals - Animals can also cause power outages when they climb on equipment, such as transformers and fuses, causing the equipment to shut down. By shutting down, the equipment protects the rest of the system.
- Planned Outages - It is sometimes necessary to interrupt power to area homes
and businesses for a period of time, to perform maintenance work on our system. Before
this occurs, WPS makes every effort to alert
affected customers and communities in advance of these planned outages.
View our latest News Releases for WPS's most recent planned outages, along with other important company news.
2008 Power Outages
Power outages happen when you least expect them. In 2008, here's why most of them occurred:
- 31.6% Fallen Trees and Tree Growth
- 24.2% Equipment Wear and Tear
- 22.2% Lightning and Other Weather: wind, rain, snow, heat, cold and ice
- 11.1% Unknown and Miscellaneous: mechanical damage, construction error, fire, etc.
- 7.1% Animal Contact
- 3.8% Human Error: underground digging, cranes, traffic, vandalism, etc.