Outage Center

Through rain, wind, snow, and ice, Ouachita Electric Cooperative Corporation (OECC) works diligently to keep the power on for every home and business throughout our service area. However, despite our best efforts, unexpected conditions can sometimes cause temporary power outages.

As an Ouachita Electric member, you are the most important part of our business. We are committed to providing safe, reliable, and uninterrupted electric service 365 days a year. When storms or other unforeseen circumstances cause an outage, our crews take immediate action to restore power as quickly and safely as possible.

When the Power Comes Back On

Give the electrical system a chance to stabilize by gradually reconnecting the appliances you previously disconnected. When the power first comes back on, turn on only the most essential appliances and wait a few minutes before reconnecting others.

Before switching back on your heating unit, check the outdoor unit to ensure that the fan and outdoor heat exchanger are free from ice and snow.

Check food supplies in your refrigerator and freezer for signs of spoilage. Don’t take chances with food you are not sure about. When in doubt, throw it out.

Outage Restoration Process

A Step-by-Step Look at Power Restoration

How do electric cooperatives prioritize repairs after a major storm? Whenever the electricity goes out, we’ve come to expect service to be restored within a few hours at most. But when a major ice storm or tornadoes cause widespread damage, longer outages cannot be helped. Line crews work long, hard hours restoring service, but it’s a task that needs to be done methodically to be done safely.

A utility worker wearing an orange helmet and sunglasses stands in a raised bucket truck beside a wooden utility pole, under a cloudy sky.

The Priority Order

Here’s a refresher course on how electric cooperatives go about the task of restoring service after severe storms.

Every co-op follows a basic principle when it comes to restoring power:

Priority goes to the lines that will get the most people back in service the quickest. This usually begins with main lines and continues out to tap lines and then to individual service lines.

Exceptions are made for people on life-supporting medical equipment.

Notify your co-op immediately if someone in your family uses such equipment, and always have a backup generator ready.

A Walk-Through: How Power Gets Restored

A big storm has just hit the countryside! What happens next?

In this simplified diagram, most of the countryside is in the dark. Fortunately, the substation serving the area is energized. It’s receiving power from the transmission lines, shown in red. But a main distribution line from the substation to most of the area is damaged, leaving most of the members in this area without power.

1

Repair the Main Line

All repairs start with the main line. A large number of members down the line will have power returned once the main line is fixed.

Illustration of a power grid shows a substation with red power lines leading to multiple houses. A repair truck works near the substation. Text reads "Repairs start here!"

Repairs start here!

With the main line now fixed (now shown in red), the electric cooperative line crew can better isolate other damage and prioritize repairs.

2

Restore the Subdivision

Illustration of a power grid with homes and utility lines. A utility truck works to restore power, caption reads, "1 stop and an entire subdivision is back in power!"

1 stop, and an entire subdivision is back in power!

Though a couple of repairs were closer, fixing the line in this subdivision down the road will get many more members on faster.

3

Fix the First Tap Line

Diagram of a utility lineman crew fixing a power outage. Houses on the left are dark; a crew works to restore electricity on the right.

Back down the road, the line crew makes 1 repair and restores power to this stretch of line.

Moving back down the road, the crew stops by this intersection to fix a damaged tap line. This repair restores power to the homes (shown with orange arrows) along this stretch of line.

4

Fix Another Tap Line

Illustration of a rural electrical grid showing power lines connecting homes. A repair crew works to restore power, emphasized by arrows.

This repair restores power to those home and farms.

Another tap line serving a number of homes and a farm on the hill is next on the list for this hard-working line crew.

5

Repair Individual Service Lines

By now, the folks in the blue house probably are wondering “what gives?” They see lights in the homes of their neighbors; they’ve seen electric cooperative crews going by their home and working right across the road. And still they have no power!

Electricity is coming to the pole outside the blue home (that happened with the first repair in Step 1), but the service line from the pole to their home is damaged. Repairs like these to individual homes come after crews have performed all the larger fixes.

Diagram illustrating power outage repair hierarchy. Larger lines are prioritized before individual home repairs. Text reads, “Individual repairs begin once all other larger lines are repaired.” A repair truck is shown near a house.

Individual repairs begin once all other larger lines are repaired.

Finally, all power is restored to the area.

After Power is Restored

Please note: Our line crew may need to come out in the following days and weeks to make long-term repairs and rebuild sections of line that were severely damaged by the storm.

This might mean:

You will find blinking clocks when you get home from work

You will be notified of planned short-term power outages

Tree-trimming crews will be in the area to make sure rights-of-way are clear of overhanging tree branches

Wind and ice storms can topple trees into power lines, which account for many of the outages in wooded areas.

When you see the orange diamond-shaped “Utility Work Ahead” or similar warning signs along the road, be sure to slow down and give the line crews plenty of room. They might just be working on the power line that powers your home.

If you ever have questions about outages and repairs, be sure to call our office.

Orange "Utility Work Ahead" sign with flags and cones line a road under maintenance. Cars and trees in the background, creating a cautious tone.