Power Restoration FAQ

Once your service is restored every effort will be made to keep it on. Keep in mind, however, that as we repair other parts of the system, some interruptions may be required. In addition, YEC works closely with county, city and state agencies. At their request, we may have to interrupt a circuit if there is a fire or some other emergency. And during ice storms, it is not uncommon for the weight of ice on the line or surrounding trees to cause power lines to break. If the storm continues, a crew may restore your power, and then, with the further accumulation of ice on the lines, your lines may break again.

No. Since YEC has no control over damage done to facilities during storms or other natural disasters, members at large could not be expected to pay for any individual member’s food that might spoil due to storm damage and resulting from electric service interruptions. Remember, electrical disturbances that cause you damage are likely to cause your cooperative damage too, but on a much larger scale. One lighting strike, for example, can cause equipment failure to your cooperative costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Therefore, we do all we can to reasonably protect the electric system. You must do your part by protecting your own equipment from any storm damage or loss of power.

Learn the ABCDs of food handling and storage in an emergency with our handy Keeping Food Safe guide.

Restoring power after widespread outages is a big job that involves more than simply throwing a switch or removing a tree from a line. The main goal is to safely restore power to the greatest number of members in the shortest time possible. In order to accomplish this, the process begins with a damage assessment of the co-op’s lines and facilities by employees who have been specifically trained to accomplish those tasks. The assessment allows YEC to direct its resources (both labor and materials) to areas where they are needed the most.

If there is damage to power plants, switchyards, or transmission lines, those facilities must be repaired by our power supplier before we can restore your service. Transmission lines seldom fail, but they can be damaged by storms. Tens of thousands of people could be served by a single high-voltage transmission line. When those facilities are working, problems in your co-op’s electric distribution system can be corrected.

Substations are repaired first. When a major outage occurs, the local distribution substations are checked first. If the problem can be corrected at the substation level, power may be restored to a large number of people. YEC has 24 substations on its system and there are over 3,500 miles of distribution lines which are routed from the substations.

Distribution lines are repaired. Main distribution supply lines are checked next, if the problem cannot be isolated at the substation. These supply lines carry electricity away from the substation to a group of members, such as a subdivision. When power is restored at this stage, all members served by this supply line could see the lights come on, as long as there is no problem farther down the line.

Individual services restored. The final supply lines, called service lines, carry power from the transformer on utility poles or underground transformers outside houses or other buildings. Line crews fix the remaining outages based on restoring service to the greatest number of members. Sometimes, damage will occur on the service line between your house and the transformer on the nearby pole. This may explain why you have no power when your neighbor does.

No. YEC maintains and operates facilities in a manner calculated to provide safe and reliable service. During abnormal weather, we make every effort to provide continuous service, but cannot be responsible for complete or partial failure or interruption of service, or for fluctuations in voltage from causes beyond our control. Just prior to a storm, and during early stages of restoration, members may wish to turn off or limit use of electronically sensitive and/or nonessential appliances.

If you experience a power outage and have already checked your main breaker, you should always alert YEC of your location. Please report your power outage by calling PowerTouch: 1-866-374-1234, texting OUTAGE to 352667, using our mobile app, or logging in to our Member Services portal.

Overhead services are more exposed to ice, high winds and flying debris. Underground facilities are subject to flooding. Damage to an overhead transformer is often easier to find. Damage to a pad mounted transformer serving underground cable may not be readily visible. Underground lines are susceptible to damage from digging and trenching equipment. And the cost of installing and maintaining underground conductor over hundreds of miles of sparsely populated rural areas would result in an enormous increase in the cost of electricity to you.