We do our best to avoid them, but there’s no way around it: power outages occasionally happen. For most Wheatland Electric members, outages are rare and only last a
few hours.
But when severe weather impacts our area, extended outages are unavoidable, like those experienced by our co-op members in Great Bend and across our southwest Kansas service territory in mid-July.
When damaging storms like these strike, our employees get to work — immediately. When severe weather struck Great Bend on July 16, 2023, our line crews began working on restoration repairs right away, and our cooperative sent crews from our southwest and other central district offices to aid in repair efforts in less than 24 hours.
Later that week, when damaging storms again struck our western districts of Scott, Finney, Kearny, Wichita and Greeley counties on July 20, 2023, crews from Great Bend and Harper reciprocated relief efforts to minimize outage duration and speed up repairs, including hundreds of utility poles that needed to be replaced.
The round-the-clock work for most of our crews across our expansive service territory could not have happened without a dedicated team of employees — across our cooperative — who care about the work they do and put their jobs first, oftentimes before family, fun, and other personal agendas when the need arises. We do not take the hard work and dedication of our employees for granted — in many ways, they are the heart of our cooperative!
So, when the power goes out, how do our crews know where to start working? And how do you know if we are aware of your outage or if it has been reported? We’ve got answers to these questions and more, and it all starts with a safe, efficient plan for power restoration.
When the lights go out and it’s safe for our crews to begin the restoration process, they start by patrolling the power lines and assessing the damage and causes. Then they safely repair the power lines and equipment that will restore power to the greatest number of people in the shortest time possible.
Our lineworkers have access to an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) system and an updated mapping system to restore power quickly and safely. This process typically begins with repairs to the larger main distribution lines that service the greatest number of homes and businesses. After those repairs are made, crews work on tap lines, which deliver power to transformers, either mounted on utility poles (for above-ground service) or placed on pads (for underground service). Finally, individual service lines that run between the transformer and the home are repaired.
We can’t control the weather, but we can prepare for it. WEC keeps a supply of extra utility poles, transformers, and other equipment on hand in all the communities we serve so we can quickly get to work in the event of an outage. When widespread outages occur, like those this past July, multiple crews will be out in the field simultaneously working to repair damage at multiple locations.
Thank you to our cooperative employees for their hard work and dedication during storm season! Mother Nature can be unpredictable, but as a member of Wheatland, you can feel confident knowing we’re standing by, ready to restore power as quickly and safely as possible.
How to Report an Outage
If you experience a power outage, don’t assume a neighbor reported it. It’s best to report the outage yourself. During business hours, call your local WEC office or use our outage reporting hotline after hours, on holidays and weekends: 1-800-ON-AGAIN (1-800-662-4246).
To stay up to date, you can also view our live outage map at www.weci.net/view-or-report-outage. We also post updates in real time to our Facebook page and update with new information as it becomes available. Do not report outages on Facebook. Please call to report your outage.
After reporting, follow us on Facebook or check our website to stay up to date!
