Why is this outage happening? The electrical distribution system in your area is in need of repairs. If we do not make these repairs, there is a risk that your area will experience an unplanned outage. Unplanned outages generally result in more customer inconvenience since the duration of the outage is much longer.

By scheduling a planned outage, we can make the necessary repairs in a much shorter period of time, thereby minimizing the inconvenience for customers. Planned outages are carefully orchestrated with all crews and materials in place before our lines are actually de-energized.

Can this outage be postponed? This outage cannot be postponed. We have provided all affected customers with a one week notice of the planned outage so that they can make any necessary provisions to minimize discomfort or disruption associated with the temporary loss of power.

In the event that outside temperatures are expected to be below 10°, if severe weather is predicted or an unexpected emergency occurs, we will move this outage to one of the contingency dates listed on the notification you received from us.

How is outage timing determined? Most scheduled outages occur during normal business/daylight hours. Some outages are scheduled during late evening/early morning hours to minimize the inconvenience of the outage for the majority of customers.

Will the outage last the full time listed in your notification? Our crews will do everything possible to minimize the duration of the outage. It is very unlikely that the outage will last more than the estimated time for this repair. If we know in advance that we are unable to complete all the repairs within the estimated window, we will schedule a second outage at a future date.

Can this work be done without an outage? Our crews cannot complete this repair work safely unless the equipment is de-energized.

Will I be supplied with an emergency generator? We do not have generators available to loan to customers. Since spontaneous outages and equipment failures can occur at any time, we recommend that customers who need uninterrupted power evaluate the benefit of having a generator versus the cost of installing the generator and necessary transfer switch/wiring.

Concern about Life Support customers Because power outages can happen at anytime, we recommend that customers who rely on special equipment have backup systems to insure a continuous supply of power.

By providing all customers with advance notice of a planned interruption, we hope that customers will have sufficient time to verify that their backup systems are in good working order or to make alternate arrangements during the time of the planned outage.

Concern about cold weather Our crews routinely perform work in cold weather. A planned outage is being arranged so that the duration of the outage will be shorter than the unplanned outage that could occur if our equipment fails before it can be repaired.

We recommend that customers increase the temperature in their homes by about 10° in advance of the planned outage to minimize the discomfort of not having heat available during the planned outage. Once service is restored after the planned interruption, please verify that your heating equipment is operational. Some heating systems need to be “restarted” by service technicians.

If your home is prone to pipes freezing, we also recommend that during the planned interruption you allow a trickle of water to run through a faucet to minimize the risk of freezing pipes.

The following is supplemental information for customers concerned with homes becoming cold during the planned interruption.
Please note that this chart assumes that the starting temperature before the outage is 70° within the home. We recommend that customers increase the temperature within their home approximately 10° to minimize the discomfort of not having heat during the temporary interruption.