In the aftermath of Winter Storm Cora, nearly 1,000 SWEPCO team members and utility professionals quickly assessed hundreds of repair locations across our service area. Within 24 hours, crews restored power to 67 percent of affected customers. Efforts to restore power to all customers are ongoing.

At 8 a.m., Friday, the winter storm caused 36,637 outages across SWEPCO’s three-state service territory, which have since been reduced to roughly 10,000. Work continues.

In the Texarkana region, Winter Storm Cora delivered a significant icy blast that resulted in considerable damage, bringing down trees and power lines and causing approximately 34,000 outages. Initial assessments indicate that over 100 spans of wire require repair, with each span averaging 150 feet in length. Additionally, forestry personnel have been activated to clear more than 500 trees that fell from outside SWEPCO's right-of-way.

Event restoration times have been communicated with customers, and work continues with many potentially having power restored sooner. Due to the severity of the damage, this will result in a multi-day outage event. To stay up to date on your service, customers can subscribe to outage alerts at SWEPCO.com/alerts. The more damage there is to the system, the further out in time the global ETR will be. Please note these restoration times could change based on the complexity of repairs.

Customers who signed up for email or text alerts could receive direct updates on the estimated restoration time at their home or business as crews continue working to restore power. To sign up to receive your personalized restoration update, visit SWEPCO.com/alerts.

The company has shared revised restoration estimates:

10 p.m. today, Jan. 11

• Mount Pleasant, Texas

10 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 12

• Texarkana area, including Arkansas communities of Ashdown, Texarkana, De Queen and Nashville and Texarkana, Texas. 

SAFETY REMINDERS

Generator Safety

As we work to restore power, your safety and the safety of our employees is our top priority! Here are three essential tips for generator use:

1. Prevent Backfeed: Use a transfer switch for safe connections to avoid backfeeding, protecting our lineworkers.
2. Follow Manufacturer's Instructions: Always read the manual and operate your generator as directed.
3. Keep Generators Outdoors: Avoid carbon monoxide risks by using generators outside and away from windows.

Stay Aware of Hazards from Damaged Limbs

Ice accumulation can snap tree limbs and power lines even after the storm has passed. Stay aware of hazards. As a reminder, during an ice storm, ice can build up on tree branches, causing them to become heavy and potentially break or fall.

When the weather improves and things start to thaw, some branches that were weighed down may rise back up. This can lead to those branches interfering with power lines that were just fixed, which might cause power outages to happen again.

We experienced similar situations during the ice storms of 2000 and 2009, when the thawing of weighed-down branches led to power outages after repairs had been made.

Learn more about our outage assessment and restoration processes.

For more storm safety tips, and suggestions about what to do before, during, and after a storm, please visit SWEPCO.com/Safety.

Stay Away From Downed Power Lines

All downed power lines should be considered energized and dangerous. Do not touch anything in contact with the line, such as trees, fences, or puddles of water. Keep children and pets inside during and after the storm. Stay at least ten feet away from any downed power line.

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

Additionally, for customers concerned about winter heating costs, SWEPCO has tools and resources available at SWEPCO.com/billhelp and the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program can offer income-qualified residents with aid. Winter heating applications are being accepted in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. Use the National Energy Assistance Referral (NEAR) Service to connect to your local LIHEAP office and find other available resources.