What You Need to Know
- Damage is widespread. Additional workers began arriving early this morning to help with storm restoration and more assistance is on the way. SWEPCO has mobilized a workforce of more than 600 utility professionals to aid in restoration efforts, including additional tree and line crews from throughout our three-state service territory and our sister utility, Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO).
- Due to severe damage, customers should prepare for extended outages while crews work as quickly and safely as possible. We estimate 95% of customers who can receive power should be restored by 10 p.m. Friday.
- Now is the time for customers to determine whether their home can receive power - SWEPCO cannot connect power to a home or business if there is damage to the service entrance, which is owned by the customer. Customers must have a licensed electrician repair damage before power can be restored.
- 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.
Our hearts are with all the NWA residents, their families and restoration teams as recovery efforts continue.
Major restoration efforts are underway in Northwest Arkansas following at least one tornado and other extreme weather impacts that barreled through the region early Sunday morning.
Already, SWEPCO assessors have painstakingly itemized extensive repairs at nearly 500 unique locations. These repairs are required before power can safely be restored for all SWEPCO customers, including: 300 broken utility poles; 75 destroyed transformers and more than 6 miles of damaged conductor wires.
Assessments are ongoing and those impact numbers are expected to increase.
To aid in the effort, more than 600 crew members have answered the call to support our Northwest Arkansas communities.
We estimate 95% of customers who can receive power should be restored by 10 p.m. Friday.
We remain grateful for the support from these additional tree and line crews who have left their families to help us in this important effort, including our own sister utility, Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO).
Now is the time for customers to determine whether their home can receive power - SWEPCO cannot connect power to a home or business if there is damage to the service entrance, which is owned by the customer. Customers must have a licensed electrician repair damage before power can be restored.
Safety for our customers and our crews is paramount. Please consider ANY downed wires and anything they may be touching as dangerous. Call 911 to report any hazards or call SWEPCO immediately at (888) 218-3919.
We ask for your continued patience as our crews work as quickly and safely as possible. Please allow crews space to work and refrain from approaching them.
BY THE NUMBERS
As of 2 p.m., Monday, approximately 15,000 customers are without power from the storms that brought strong winds, downed trees and snapped more than 300 utility poles and significant spans of electrical wire.
Learn more about our restoration process.
GET RESTORATION UPDATES
Enroll in our alerts at SWEPCO.com/Alerts
POST-STORM SAFETY TIPS
Find post-storm safety tips: https://www.swepco.com/safety/
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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.
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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.