How Power Be Restored?

When the power goes out most of us expect it to come back on within a few hours but sometimes major storms cause widespread damage and outages can last longer than expected. The good news is that your electric co-ops line crews work long hard hours to restore service safely to the greatest number of members. That’s you in the shortest time possible ever wonder how they do it well. There are four steps to restoring power that we should all know about especially when we find ourselves in the dark.

Step 1. Repair high voltage transmission lines. Transmission towers and lines supply power to thousand of members. They rarely fall but when they do they must be repaired first before other parts of the system can operate.

Step 2. Inspect distributions of substation. Distributions of substation receive high voltage power from transmission lines then disperse that power at a lower voltage to the co-op’s main distribution lines. Depending on your Electric co-op service territory, distributions of substation can serve either hundreds or thousands of members. When a major power outage occurs, the co-op’s line Crews inspect the substation to determine If the problem stems from the transmission line speeding into the substation the substation itself or if the problem is further down the line.

Step 3. Check main distribution lines. If the problem cannot be isolated at a distribution of substation, the main distribution lines are checked first. These lines carry power to large groups of members in your electric co-op’s service territory.

Step 4. Examine tap lines. If local outages persist supply lines called tap lines are examined. These lines deliver power to transformers that are either mounted on poles or placed on pads For underground service and can be found outside of homes, businesses and schools. Occasionally. Damage will occur on the service lines between the nearest transformer and your home. Has your neighbor ever had power while yours is out? That is why when the problem is in the tap lines, co-op line crews will fix outages in an order that will restore service to the greatest number of members at a time. as you can see, restoring power after a major outage is a big job and involves much more than simply flipping a switch or removing a tree on the damaged line. When co-ops work to restore power, they often have the capability to work on multiple parts to the system simultaneously. This ensures reliable power with a faster response time. In the event of an outage, your local line crews will restore power safely to the greatest number of members in the shortest time possible.