CEO
Have you ever watched a video or TV show where a person is cooking a meal, then suddenly, they snap their fingers, and the meal is plated and ready to eat? That’s called a jump cut.
While we wish we could “jump cut” from a power outage to power restoration, it can often take a lot more effort and people to make it happen.
As the general manager of Dubois REC, I’m accustomed to members’ questions about power outages and why it can take time to get the lights back on. Given our reliance on electricity, there’s simply never a good time to be without it.
This month, I’d like to shed light on our restoration process to help our members understand what may be happening behind the scenes. Here are 10 things you might not know about restoration:
- We need you. When your power goes out, it might be just at your home or small section of a neighborhood. Even though our equipment is designed to recognize and report outages automatically, there is a chance we may not know about your specific outage. We appreciate when our members contact us to confirm an outage in their area.
- Our employees might be affected, too. Because Dubois REC is a local electric cooperative owned by the members we serve, our employees are local too. They are your neighbors, friends and familiar community volunteers. When you’re without power, our people might be too.
- It’s a team effort. Every one of Dubois REC’s employees are working to get your power restored as soon as possible. Our member services representatives are taking your calls, engineers and field staff are surveying damage, our vegetation management team is clearing hazards, dispatchers are organizing crews, and communicators are keeping everyone informed of progress or potential dangers. When your power goes out, we all work together as quickly and safely as possible to get you back to normal.
- We assess the situation first. Every outage is different, and we don’t know how dangerous it is or what equipment might need to be replaced. When responding to outages, we first need to see what happened, then figure out what materials we need and a plan for how to fix the problem(s) without compromising electric flow for the rest of our members.
- Restoration is normally prioritized by the largest number of members we can get back on in the shortest amount of time. Our crews focus on responding first to public safety issues and critical services. Then we complete work that impacts the largest of number of people first.
- Our employees face many dangers. In addition to working around high voltage electricity, our crews are on alert for wild animals, weather elements, falling trees and fast-moving cars. (If you ever drive past one of our vehicles, please do so slowly.)
- Flickering lights are a good thing. Some folks mistake flickering lights for outages, but these “blinks” are important because they indicate our equipment worked and prevented a possible outage likely caused by wayward animals or stray tree limbs on the lines.
- You need a backup plan. We do our best to help those who need it, but if you depend on electricity for life support purposes, you must have a backup plan — remember, we don’t always know how long restoration efforts will take. If you’re unsure what to do, call us so we can help you prepare an emergency location.
- Our employees have to plan, and eat. If you ever see our trucks in a restaurant parking lot while your power is out, know that sometimes our employees huddle in a safe, common area to map out their plan for getting your power back on. Also, our crews work long, hard hours during outages and need to take time for meals just like everyone else.
- Sometimes it’s a waiting game. Our portion of the power grid is connected to other electric utilities, and we maintain positive relationships with power providers interconnected to our system. If our outage is due to an issue from their feed into our system, we must let them do their repairs and be mindful of what they’re going through to fix it.
We do our best to avoid power disruptions, but they are inevitable from time to time. If the lights go out, know that your co-op team is working as quickly and safely as possible to restore power. If you experience an outage, please let us know by reporting it through our SmartHub app or calling our office at 812-482-5454 during normal business hours, or 812-482-5455 after hours.
