FirstEnergy's storm restoration process
Preparing for major outagesFirstEnergy begins preparing for major outages long before they hit. Our employees are well trained to safely perform their roles as field crews and in storm management. FirstEnergy's computerized Outage Management System (OMS) is always ready to track and process customer outage calls when a storm hits. The OMS enables us to organize repair efforts and restore power as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Additionally, while our employees are more than capable of handling most outages, FirstEnergy has pre-arranged mutual assistance relationships with neighboring electric utilities to help us restore power more quickly in the most extreme outage situations. They help us, and we help them, as needs arise.
With these preparations in place, dispatchers at FirstEnergy's regional Distribution and Transmission Operations Centers monitor weather forecasts from the National Weather Service and other sources around the clock. They watch for early signs of storms that may damage our lines or equipment, causing outages.
When storms threatenWhen severe weather is forecast, we activate formal readiness plans to ensure plenty of service crews are prepared to tackle the storm's damage. Additional linemen, dispatching staff and other field personnel usually are put on alert, too, ready to be mobilized if needed. We also increase Contact Center staffing, bringing in more Customer Service representatives to handle a potentially large volume of customer calls.
FirstEnergy's Outage Management SystemCalls to our Outage Reporting Line and outage reports handled by our Contact Center representatives are entered into our Outage Management System (OMS). This system automatically evaluates the pattern of reported outages and determines the likely location of the trouble. Based on this information, the regional dispatcher sends a crew to the probable trouble location to determine the extent of the problem and repair it as quickly and safely as possible.
The OMS works best when it receives plenty of information to analyze. Even if a neighbor has already reported power being out, you should call our Outage Reporting Line, 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877) to report your power being out, too. The more reports we receive, the more accurately we can determine the extent of the outage and its cause.
And if you see a downed wire, call us and take other appropriate steps immediately.
Prioritizing restoration activitiesStorms may damage a variety of electrical facilities, affecting our customers in different ways. Power may be knocked out to large numbers of residential customers. Or, an outage may involve hospitals, police and fire departments, water pumping stations, schools, and other important public facilities.
When an outage is widespread, restoring power to all affected customers at the same time may not be possible. Generally, FirstEnergy service crews first must restore transmission and substation facilities, since they supply power for local distribution systems. Next, we give priority to hospitals, critical care and life support facilities, communications facilities, and emergency response agencies. After that, crews work to restore power as quickly as possible to the rest of our customers.
Occasionally, customers may wonder why crews drive past their homes instead of stopping to restore their power. Especially early in a storm's aftermath, our linemen often are responding to hazardous situations or high-priority damage locations.
In the early phases of storm restoration, our primary focus is to find areas with electrical hazards - such as downed (and potentially energized) wires and related electrical equipment - and make them safe. At such times, linemen focus on isolating these hazards.
Once that is accomplished, crews begin to repair lines that supply power to crucial public safety facilities or large areas or groups of customers. A line may be damaged in multiple locations, or at some distance from those who are out of service. The linemen, tree crews, or other workers you see may be on their way to make higher-priority repairs, which must be completed before damages closer to your location can be fixed.
After local power lines are repaired and put back in service, damage to individual customer service wires may become apparent. If your neighbor's power is on and yours is not, the problem may be isolated to your individual service. It may be appropriate to report such problems to FirstEnergy, even if it is later in the restoration process.
Managing tree damage during storm restorationIn a major storm, fallen trees and limbs must be quickly and safely cleared sufficiently for our crews to repair and re-energize damaged lines. This clearing effort represents a significant portion of our work after a storm.
Under no circumstances should you attempt to remove trees or debris from power lines. For safety's sake, stay well clear of downed trees, limbs, or debris that might be in contact with energized lines. Left over debris can be cleaned up later, after repairs have been made and service restored.
For more information, see our Storm Damage and Downed Power Lines page.
Mobilizing additional crews for major stormsFirstEnergy's local service center crews usually handle less-extensive storm damage in their own areas. For larger outages, we can call out employees from our surrounding service centers or bring in crews from other FirstEnergy operating companies. FirstEnergy also may supplement our own crews with personnel from local contractors. In the most severe cases, workers may be requested from neighboring electric companies through mutual assistance relationships.
Still need help?
Contact us with your questions.
|
