Community Electric Cooperative is closely monitoring the path and potential impacts of Elsa as it develops and approaches our service territory, preparing to respond quickly and safely should outages occur.
Line technicians are prepping trucks with all necessary supplies and materials for any outages that may occur as a result of the storm. System operators are monitoring the cooperatives power system and weather on a daily, 24-hour basis and all other employees are on high alert, ready to respond to member needs, including the cooperative’s member service contact center.
CEC has coordinated with co-ops in surrounding areas and states. “This coordination will prove helpful should the storm cause extensive outages that require the deployment of out-of-state support personnel.” Said Jonathan Thompson, CEC’s Chief Operations Officer.
“If need be, we will expand our contact to federal, state and local emergency management agencies to ensure a coordinated response – depending on the severity that Elsa brings.”
Community Electric urges members to act now to make preparations to remain safe and comfortable in the event of an outage.
How You Can Prepare
- Assemble an emergency kit. It should include at least a three-day supply of water, non-perishable food, medication, first aid supplies, a flashlight, weather radio and extra batteries. Include a list of emergency contacts.
- Charge your cell phone and have external, backup power sources charged.
- Develop an evacuation plan in case it’s needed. Communicate the plan to your family. Include pets or livestock in your plan.
- Secure outdoor items. Safely store lawn furniture, decorations, toys, garbage cans and other items that can be brought indoors.
- Close windows and doors in the event of high winds.
- Fuel up. Fill up your vehicles before the storm as a loss of power could put affect gas stations.
- Consider having supplies handy for your propane or charcoal grill. Be sure to grill outdoors in well ventilated areas for safety.
- Keep all devices charged in order to report an outage via the SmartHub app.
As a reminder, if heavy rains and strong winds lead to downed lines, stay away! Contact with downed lines can be dangerous, even deadly. Report downed power lines to Community Electric Cooperative at (757) 242-6181 or call 911 immediately.
The cooperative will respond to all outages as soon as conditions are safe. Please note:
- Assessing damage and estimating when members will have power restored could take 24 hours or longer after the worst of the storm has moved through the area.
- Line crews can only be deployed to restore service when weather conditions become safe.
- Line crews are restricted from working on overhead power lines during adverse weather conditions, such as thunderstorms in the immediate vicinity, and sustained winds of 35 miles per hour (30 mph if the work involves installing or replacing materials).
Community Electric Cooperative, headquartered in Windsor, is a not-for-profit member-owned energy provider that serves nearly 12,000 homes, farms and businesses in the counties of Isle of Wight, Southampton, Surry, and Sussex and the City of Suffolk.