What You Need to Know
- SWEPCO crews are continuing assessments following the early morning storms, which some have estimated may have included three likely tornadoes in the Northwest Arkansas (NWA) region.
- Early assessments show considerable damage throughout the northern part of SWEPCO’s service territory. The storm left downed trees and damaging debris that snapped approximately 300 utility poles and damaged wire.
- At peak, approximately 19,000 customers were without power during peak outages. As of noon, SWEPCO crews had restored service to about 5,000 NWA customers.
- SWEPCO crews are assessing damage and making plans to restore power quickly and safely. An additional 500 tree and line crews are being dispatched from across SWEPCO’s service territory and sister utilities in Oklahoma to aid in the restoration effort.
- Due to significant damage, customers should prepare for extended outages as crews work as quickly and as safely as possible.
- Downed trees, broken utility poles and downed lines are to be treated as dangerous. Stay as far away as possible from downed wires and anything they may be touching. Call 911 to report any hazards or call SWEPCO immediately at (888) 218-3919.
- There remains concern for additional weather outbreaks throughout SWEPCO's three-state service territory. Customers are advised to be weather aware.
CURRENT SITUATION
SWEPCO has activated its storm response following extreme weather, which may have included three tornadoes, that caused considerable damage in Northwest Arkansas.
The first step in our restoration process is to assess the damage after a storm. SWEPCO damage assessors are being deployed to look for downed power poles, wires, damaged transformers and other electrical equipment. These highly trained employees work to determine the specialized equipment, teams or identify anything else that will be needed for restoring power. Part of their planning is to also quickly evaluate any other issues that may impact the restoration work. This work is a vital first step to efficient and safe storm repairs.
Early assessments show severe damage throughout the northern part of SWEPCO’s service territory with downed trees, damaging debris that snapped approximately 300 utility poles and damaged spans of wire. Due to significant damage, customers should prepare for extended outages as crews work as quickly and as safely as possible.
Additional tree and line worker crews are being dispatched from across SWEPCO’s service territory and sister utilities in Oklahoma to aid in the restoration effort and SWEPCO.
Customers are urged to stay as far away as possible from downed wires and anything they may be touching. Call 911 to report any hazards or call SWEPCO immediately at (888) 218-3919.
Weather remains unstable throughout the area and customers should remain weather aware.
BY THE NUMBERS
As of 1 p.m., Sunday, approximately 14,948 customers are without power from the storms that brought strong winds, downed trees and snapped more than 300 utility poles and damaged several hundred spans of electrical wire.
Estimated times of restoration will be made available once assessors have completed their work. When a storm causes the power to go out, assessors ensure the right crew, the right equipment and the right location are accurate to safely and as quickly as possible, restore service to our customers.
Learn more about our restoration process.
GET RESTORATION UPDATES
By enrolling in our alerts at SWEPCO.com/Alerts, customers get updated restoration information. When our crews arrive on individual work sites, a more precise restoration time for the affected group of customers will be updated in our system and communicated through alerts if the customers have signed up to receive our notifications by phone or email. Updated information can also be found at SWEPCO.com/OutageMap.
POST-STORM SAFETY TIPS
- Stay as far away as possible from downed wires and anything they may be touching. Call 911 to report any hazards or call SWEPCO immediately at (888) 218-3919.
- Carefully investigate before cleaning up any debris. Tree limbs, leaves and other objects moved by the wind could hide downed wires.
- Do not attempt to remove tree limbs or debris within 10 feet of a power line.
- If using a generator, be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Should I call SWEPCO to report my power outage?
Immediately after a major storm, report only safety hazards such as downed power lines or equipment that is sparking. Often, we’re already aware of damage to our systems such as transmission lines and distribution circuits. Your calls help us focus resources on hazards that are not automatically picked up by our monitoring systems. You can also report an outage using our online form. Want to be the first to know about outages? Subscribe to alerts.
What should customers do if they see downed lines?
Don't touch it or anything near it. Even telephone or cable lines can become energized. Keep yourself and others as far away as possible and call 911 or SWEPCO immediately at (888) 218-3919.
When are customer repairs needed?
If there is damage to the service entrance or weatherhead on your home or business, you must have a qualified electrician repair this damage before power can be restored.
When it’s safe to do so, customers should inspect whether they have weatherhead damage. A weatherhead is a conduit that attaches to the home and feeds into the meter box. If this device and/or the meter box has been damaged or ripped from your home, customers should first contact an electrician to repair. This is not something you want to try and fix yourself. If the meter box is pulled away from the house and you have power, you should call an electrician to reattach the meter box. Keep in mind: an electrical inspection may be required.
After repairs are made, contact SWEPCO at 1-888-216-3523 to have power restored.
STAYING CONNECTED
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NEXT UPDATE
We will continue to keep you informed as more information becomes available. Updates will be provided at SWEPCO.com as well as other communication channels.