Power Restored to 91 Percent of Customers Who Can Receive Power Following Memorial Weekend Tornadoes; Remaining Customer Outages are in Hardest Hit Areas of Northwest Arkansas
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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- SWEPCO has restored power to 91 percent of customers (who can accept power) affected by the Memorial Weekend Storms, as of 10 a.m. Sunday.
- The remaining customers without power are in areas hit especially hard by a severe weather system that produced at least seven tornadoes and hurricane-strength straight line winds.
- SWEPCO crews, in tandem with other utility professionals, worked to rebuild key infrastructure and restore power to customers in Northwest Arkansas.
- We’ve made progress and this massive rebuilding effort continues as we work to repower our remaining 1,600 customers.
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CURRENT SITUATION
SWEPCO crews, in tandem with other utility professionals, worked to rebuild key infrastructure and restore power to thousands of customers in Northwest Arkansas. As of 10 a.m. Sunday, we have restored power to 91 percent of customers who can receive power in this area.
The remaining customers without power are in areas hit especially hard by the Memorial Weekend storms. That line of severe weather produced at least seven tornadoes and hurricane-strength straight line winds.
We are consolidating crews to concentrate on the hardest-hit areas in Rogers, Arkansas. Our team is united in our commitment to help rebuild the communities we call home and support our customers by restoring their power as swiftly and as safely as possible.
The restoration work in the area involves complex and labor-intensive repairs. SWEPCO’s peak outage following this weather event was 19,000 customers. With multiple utilities offering service to customers across Benton County, the overall community impact was larger with initial, combined estimates reflecting more than 50,000 of the 70,000 Benton County residents affected.
Benton County, Arkansas, population 300,000, is served by multiple electric utility providers, including SWEPCO, Carroll Electric and the City of Bentonville. At peak, there was a combined approximate outage of 94,100. SWEPCO had a peak of around 19,000, Carroll Electric reported 65,000 and the City of Bentonville had reported a peak of 10,100. Each mobilized resources and coordinated with community leaders and first responders to tackle the massive restoration work.
As of 10 a.m. Sunday, SWEPCO had successfully restored power to most customers. Work remains to restore the remaining 1,660 customers.
- Extensive Damage - This storm caused major damage in Northwest Arkansas. SWEPCO and contract crews located more than 400 broken poles, more than 10 miles of down power lines, at least 100 damaged transformers and identified more than 750 unique repair locations.
- Customer Alerts - Customers who have elected to receive mobile alerts should have or will soon be sent specific restoration times for their locations. You can sign up to get these alerts here or log into their online SWEPCO accounts. Please note that estimated restoration times may change based on weather and other factors.
- Customer Repairs May Be Required - Many customers are ready to have power restored, but some have damage to their homes that must be repaired before they are able to accept power.
- Thank You - We extend our heartfelt thanks to all local officials, first responders, and the Arkansas National Guard for their collaboration and support, ensuring our crews can work as quickly and safely as possible. SWEPCO remains committed to restoring power to all affected customers and appreciates the continued support and cooperation from the community.
- Safety Reminder - To ensure the safety of both our crews and the public, customers are urged to avoid areas where work is underway, not drive past flagged or coned zones, and refrain from approaching crews while they work.
- Restoration Debris - Please note that some storm restoration debris will be left behind temporarily until pick-up activities can be scheduled following the completion of the restoration efforts.
CAN YOU RECEIVE POWER?
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. Click for a flyer in English & Spanish.
Learn how to identify weatherhead damages by watching this video. ENGLISH | SPANISH
ATTENTION LICENSED ELECTRICIANS:
SWEPCO will provide available meter sockets (residential and commercial) for licensed professional Electrical Contractors at the Frisco Station Mall parking lot located at 100 N Dixieland in Rogers, Ark., while supplies last. (Shown left is a residential meter socket.)
Contractors will be asked to provide contact and location info. A list of approved sockets can be found on SWEPCO.com in case contractors choose to purchase or supply their own meter socket. The list also contains approved multi-gang and combo units as well. The Electric Service Handbook is available for reference. Learn more here.
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/
Report outages: Report outages: SWEPCO.com/outage
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.
STAYING CONNECTED
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.