Outages
Why & What to do.
Sullivan County Rural Electric Cooperative (REC) does
all that it can to provide the best
possible service for
members at the
lowest possible cost. Programs such as right-of-way-maintenance,
pole inspections,
line improvements, etc., help reduce but cannot eliminate outages.
Electrical
outages can be caused by trees, tree limbs, lightning, cracked
insulators and, even squirrels. Many times only a small number of
members are affected by an outage.
However, in the
case of a major storm a wide area can
be affected.
During a large
outage the co-op works to restore service to as many members as
possible in the least amount of time. If a substation or a main
distribution line is out, crews work to restore power to these systems
first.
Breakers
& Fuses
To help prevent lines from sustaining major damage fuses and breakers
are used. You may have noticed that before power fails the lights
may blink several times.
If an object such as a tree limb falls on a
line a breaker will reset or
“trip” in the hopes that the object has cleared the line.
If,
however, after three attempts the object has not cleared, the
breaker
will cut the electrical feed preventing a line from burning down.
Fuses on the line work similar to those in
your home. If an object falls
on the line, the fuse trips. The only way to restore power is for
linemen to go to the fuse, check the line, remove any object on it and
insert a new fuse.
What To do if an
outage occurs
1. Check your circuit breakers or fuses in your fuse box.
2. Check with neighbors to see if they have power.
3. If a cabin or trailer with a fuse box on a center pole, check
fuses or circuit breakers
4. If your power is
restored and goes out again call the outage number to report the
problem again.
Top
of Page
Report
an outage
570-924-3418
1-800-596-3418
To help insure that power is restored as quickly as
possible, members are encouraged to call the cooperative and report an
outage. Members may be on a fuse by themselves and be without
power for a long time thinking someone else would call to report the
outage.
Sullivan County REC currently uses an Outage
Reporting System to handle outage calls.
Using caller ID the system automatically
“reads” the phone number you are calling from. Using this
information, the system displays the name on the account, members
map number, phone number and time the call came in.
If you have information
regarding an outage, such as a tree on the line, you may leave a voice
message. If you leave a message be sure to give the following
information:
1.
Name on your account.
2. Phone Number.
3. If reporting a problem, what the problem is.
Each message
left must be listened to individually. Please do
not leave
a message unless you are reporting a specific problem.
Outages can occur
when the wind is blowing and lightning fills the
sky. Or, they can occur on a calm summers day. Whenever an
outage occurs be assured Sullivan County REC employees are working to
restore your power as soon as possible.
The Porche Outage Reporting System operates by using a member's phone
number to locate where the outage is occurring. If you recently
changed your phone number, or do so in the future, please contact
Sullivan County Rural Electric Cooperative's office at 924-3381 so your
number can be updated.
