PSA: Power Outage Restoration Tutorial

[Anathema]

Considering that I'm sitting around and getting paid to do next to nothing while we wait for Winter Storm Grayson to descend upon us like locusts on Egypt, I thought it might be useful to provide the USMB readership with some insight into how the majority of Electric Utility Companies prioritize customer restoration. This is intended to help those of you who might lose power later today no lose your mind when it happens.

First off, very few companies attempt to restore significant numbers of customers until AFTER the weather has passed. So until it stops snowing/raining and/or the winds die down below 20 mph, don't expect anything to happen.

Next, companies attempt to get the most customers back in the shortest time period. So if a crew can be sent to a location and get 100 customers back in one hour or they can be sent to another location and get 20 customers back in that same hour, you guess where they're going to be sent.

If your electricity is delivered via underground wire, expect to wait a while. Underground installations have fewer outages, but they generally take longer to repair.

Likewise, if the problem is between the street and your house (service wire), you're likely to be among the last customers addressed.

 

[Jarlaxle]

This is why I have a generator.

 

[Anathema]

This is why I have a generator.

PLEASE tell me that it was installed and certified by a licensed electrician. If not, it runs the risk of backfeeding into the grid and Injuring people..

 

[Jarlaxle]

Not installed at all-it is a portable. But yes, the wiring was all done properly.

 

[Anathema]

Not installed at all-it is a portable. But yes, the wiring was all done properly.

Thank you. I know all the linemen do.

 

[Jarlaxle]

The setup at my old house was installed by a retired lineman...this one was done by an electrician from the diagram the first guy made.