SHREVEPORT, La., Feb. 21, 2021 – Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO) expects to restore power to 95 percent of customers by 10 p.m. Sunday. Approximately 4,400 customers remained without power as of 12:30 p.m.

Here are updated community-level estimated times of restoration for 95 percent of customers in each area:

• Mansfield, Noble, North Leesville, Negreet – 6 p.m. Sunday
• Belmont, Campti, Creston, Grand Ecore, Many, Marthaville, Powhatan, Provencal, Verda – 10 p.m. Sunday

SWEPCO is asking any customers who remain without power after 10 p.m. today (Sunday) to report their outage again.

“As we finish work on all the main circuits, we know there may still be individual customers without power,” said Drew Seidel, SWEPCO vice president, Region Distribution Operations. “Reporting any remaining outages will help assure that we don’t miss anyone in this final stage of service restoration.”

To report an outage, use the SWEPCO app (available for download via the App Store or Google Play), log on to SWEPCO.com, or call 1-888-218-3919.

When Customer Repairs Are Needed

• SWEPCO cannot connect power to a home or business if there is damage to the service entrance, which is owned by the customer.
• Customers need to have a qualified electrician repair this damage before power can be restored. The service entrance includes the metal box housing SWEPCO’s meter, the
  “weatherhead” pipe on top of the meter box, the service entrance cables running from the weatherhead through the meter box to the inside panel box, and other related facilities. Similar responsibilities apply to underground service.
• After repairs are made, contact SWEPCO to have power restored.

How SWEPCO Restores Power
SWEPCO prioritizes restoration efforts to safely get the largest number of customers on in the shortest amount of time and addresses restoration in these four steps:

• First, assess damage and restore critical services, such as hospitals and fire departments
• Second, restore outages that affect large groups of customers
• Third, fix problems that affect smaller numbers of customers and
• Fourth, make repairs that affect individual customers.

How to Report, Track Outages

• Log on to SWEPCO.com to report an outage and to sign up for text and email updates, including an estimated time of restoration. 
• Use the SWEPCO app, available for download via the App Store or Google Play.
• Call 1-888-218-3919 to report your outage.
• Visit SWEPCO.com/OutageMap to find detailed information without logging into your account.

Stay Safe

• Assume that any downed utility line is energized. Stay away and keep children and pets away from downed lines. Report it immediately to SWEPCO at 1-888-218-3919.
• Be extremely careful when using any alternate forms of heating, cooking and lighting.
• If you use a portable or RV generator, do not plug the generator into your circuit box. Portable generators can “backfeed” electricity up the line and risk the lives of repair workers and the public. Follow the manufacturers’ instructions carefully, and plug essential appliances directly into the generator.

If your power goes out

• If you lose power, please turn off heating, water heating and large appliances to enable smoother service restoration. Once power is restored, switch the devices back on gradually over the following 30 to 45 minutes. Taking this step helps prevent a sudden surge in demand after power is restored, which could result in a second outage.

For updates and photos, follow SWEPCO on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO)

SWEPCO, an American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) company, serves more than 543,000 customers in northwest and central Louisiana, northeast Texas and the Texas Panhandle, and western Arkansas. SWEPCO’s headquarters are in Shreveport, La. News releases and other information about SWEPCO can be found at SWEPCO.com. Connect with us at Facebook.com/SWEPCO, Twitter.com/SWEPCOnews, Instagram.com/swepco, Youtube.com/SWEPCOtv and LinkedIn.com/company/swepco.

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