REMEMBER! Please Stay Away From Downed Powerlines

If you are without electric service, please contact
West Oregon Electric at 503-429-3021

Please take a minute to refer to the section at the bottom of this page entitled "The Correct Way To Restore Electric Service" to understand how the electric service restoration process works.

West Oregon Electric's mission is to provide members with reliable service - day and night. Employees are constantly at work maintaining equipment, removing trees from rights-of-way, and upgrading the Cooperative's power system.

Despite our best efforts, severe and unusual weather can wreak havoc and cause a power outage that can last for hours or days. Snow and ice, high winds and lightning are a few examples of natural conditions that can seriously damage power equipment in a large area. Even with crews working around-the-clock, repairs are time consuming, difficult and often dangerous.
We have developed a list of suggestions that can help you during the long hours of an outage.

Always be prepared! Make sure you have a "Personal" and a "Household" emergency kit in case of a lengthy power outage or other natural event.

When planning for your "Emergency Kits", you really should "over-plan" for 3 or 4 days rather than "under-plan" for shorter periods. While you may not exhaust the supplies in a shorter event, it is better to be safe than sorry!

Personal Emergency Kit

For your "Personal Emergency Kit", consider either a 5-gallon bucket or a backpack...something that you can easily grab-n-go with. Surprisingly, you can fit a lot of supplies in these containers. All of the things you see laid out in the photograph fit in the 5-gallon bucket labeled "Personal Kit". While you can pack anything you like, we have shown and listed things that we feel are essential. It is recommended that each member of the household have their "OWN KIT". Remember, during an extended outage, you need to think about survival-type items, not vacation or picnic pleasantries. In the kit you see here, we have included some basic items:

• Bottled Water
• Trail Mix
• Canned Goods (Soups, stews, etc.)
• Dried Foods (Fruit, jerky, tuna fish)
• Energy Bars
• Water-proof Matches
• Blanket
• Flashlight & Batteries
• Paper Products
• Hand Cleaner & Baby Wipes
• Playing Cards
• Rain Slicker or Space Blanket

The items listed above are only suggestions. Other items you might choose to include: pocket knife, duct-tape (good for use with splints) and plastic eating utensils to name a few. There is no right answer - you know what you need to "survive" in the case of an extended event.

Household Emergency Kit

Your "Household Emergency Kit" may require a bit more space than a 5-gallon bucket or a backpack...but it still should be something that you can easily grab-n-go with. As with the personal emergency kit, you can pack anything you like. And again, during an extended outage, be thinking about basic necessities, not all the comforts of home. Following, we've listed some of the basics for your "Household Kit":

• Bottled Water
• First Aid Kit
• Battery Operated Cell Phones & Laptop Computers
• Battery Operated or Solar Radio
• Camp Stove (2 or 3 additional fuel bottles)
• Candles
• Blanket
• Flashlight & Batteries
• Additional Paper Products
• Battery Operated Lantern
• Optional Idea: Shop for an inexpensive Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) to charge your cell phone or laptop battery. Make sure it is always charged and ready to go.

Again, the items listed above are only suggestions. There may be other items you might choose to include as well. Remember, there is no right answer - you know what you need to "survive" in the case of an extended event.

Below is a basic list of things to remember in the case of a power outage or storm:

• Access to a flashlight, radio & fresh batteries. Always keep the batteries separate until you are ready to use them.
• Candles & matches.
  
• Bottled drinking water. Be sure to store at least one gallon per person per day. If a storm is forecast, fill the bathtub with water so bathroom facilities can still be used by pouring a bucket of water down the toilet to create a vacuum flush.
  
• More water. You might still have 50 gallons of fresh, usable water in your waterheater. In the event of an extended power outage, storm or natural disaster, it is easy to overlook or forget things that are essential to survival...even if they are right under your nose! 40-50 gallons of fresh water can help!!! Click here for more info.
• If you have a fireplace or woodstove, keep kindling and dry firewood on hand.
  
• Clothing. Wear extra layers and cover your head with a hat. Have sleeping bags and blankets handy too.
  
• Easy to prepare food items. Purchase items that don’t require much cooking - canned or instant soups, stews or chili, packaged freeze-dried meals, and protein or breakfast bars are good to have on hand.
  
• Gas camp stoves, lanterns or barbecues. NEVER use a camp stove or barbecue indoors! Be sure to use any lanterns on a flat, stable and non-flammable surface. Make sure to have extra fuel for cooking outdoors.
  
• Ample supply of essential prescription medications and over-the-counter drugs. During a storm, road travel may not be possible for several days.
  
• First aid kit. Make sure that all of the supplies are filled ready to go.
  
• Games. Board games and cards are fun and handy to pass the time.

If the lights go off, know what steps to take to be comfortable, safe and help the Co-op restore service quickly.

• Check your electrical panel. Look for tripped breakers or blown fuses. Try to reset the breakers by switching them OFF then ON.
  
• Call West Oregon Electric @ 503-429-3021. If the power does not return report it to the Co-op. Also, report any flashes, bangs or trees in lines that can help repair crews locate damage. Telephone lines are answered 24-hours a day; if the lines are busy, please try back later. Once you have spoken to a Customer Service Representative and reported your outage, you will be logged into the outage system and scheduled for restoration. Our crews will restore your power as soon as safely possible.
  
• Turn off major appliances. The water heater and heating system breakers need to be turned off to avoid overloading your circuits when the power is restored. Unplug any voltage-sensitive equipment.
  
• Install surge protectors.
• Switch on an outside light. This may assist our crews in determining whether or not your power has been restored late into the night.
  
• Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed. Food in a refrigerator will last 12 to 24 hours if the doors are kept closed. A full freezer can last 24 to 48 hours. Helpful Hint: You can drape a sleeping bag over your refrigerator or freezer for added insulating value in case of an extended power outage.
  
• Listen to radio reports. Keep either a battery operated or battery free (hand crank) radio on hand for emergencies. During an extended outage, please listen to the local radio stations, KPNW, KUGN for updates and information.

NEVER GO NEAR OR TOUCH A DOWNED POWER LINE.

NEVER WIRE A PORTABLE GENERATOR DIRECTLY INTO YOUR ELECTRICAL PANEL.

Important: Remember these tips during an extended outage. It’s easier on everyone involved. This information is very important.

• Please let the repair crews do their job. It’s tempting to stop crews and ask questions about when the power is going to be restored, but this only delays the restoration process. Remember that while the crews want to be helpful, they also want to restore your power quickly so they too can get home to their families.
  
• Be a good neighbor. Severe storms usually increase the number of accidents and medical problems. Remember this increases the response time for service agencies. You may want to organize people in your area to check on each other and lend assistance.
  
• If not used correctly, portable generators can cause fatal accidents involving the workers on the lines. Plug appliances into the generator. DO NOT connect household breaker circuits to the generator without a “double-throw switch” installed by a licensed electrician.
  
• Emergency water sources. Run off from roof tops can be collected and used for washing, but do not drink it. A water heater can supply drinking water. Be sure the breaker is OFF before you drain it, and be sure to fill it before turning the breaker back on.
  
• Keep the freezer full. Milk jugs filled with water and placed in a half-full freezer can be a supply of both water and ice in an emergency. Also, it will keep the freezer colder longer if it is full. Check into purchasing dry ice to help prevent spoilage.

During extended outages, many mambers believe that "they are always the last ones turned back on" during a power outage. This cannot be farther from the truth. There is a systematic and highly efficient method that must be used when restoring electric service to members without power.

Power must be restored in the following order to insure that all member's power is restored. An individual service in the middle or at the end of a line cannot receive electricity until all of the repairs between them and the power supply have been made.

Below is a simple "step-by-step" process that has to be used when restoring power during a power outage:

1. SUPPLIER'S TRANSMISSION LINES have to be restored first. Otherwise, there is no power for the rest of the system. We must confirm that our power supplier’s transmission lines are operational and supplying electricity to our substations first.
   
2. THE COOPERATIVE'S TRANSMISSION LINES (if applicable) come next. Once we can confirm that our supplier's transmission lines are functioning properly and delivering power to our substations, we must then confirm that our transmission lines are intact ahd delivering power properly.
   
3. SUBSTATIONS come next. Before we can make any progress and move forward with repairs, we must make any necessary repairs to our substations to get them in working order so there is power available to deliver on the power lines that feed your homes.
   
4. Then FEEDERS AND MAIN LINES. These distribution lines leave the substation and supply power to the majority of members. Repairs have to be done there before electricity can be delivered to your home or business. Without them operating properly, you will be without electricity.
   
5. TAP LINES or BRANCH LINES are next. These tap or branch lines come off of the main lines or feeders and supply one or more homes.
   
6. Finally, INDIVIDUAL SERVICES. Generally these lines serve only one home. Most often they are the lines that go directly to a house from the pole.

Hopefully, the order in which electric service, as described above, makes some sense. Please understand that at no time, does West Oregon Electric or any other utility randomly decide which services to restore and to leave off. Restoration of electric service is typically an efficient process that takes some time to complete.

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