FAQs

What are common causes of power outages?: The most common causes are critters such as squirrels and birds. While critters are the most common cause, these outages are usually repaired the quickest and through new work practices are easier to prevent. Larger power outages are typically caused by adverse weather conditions (i.e. thunderstorms, tornadoes, ice storms and high straight winds may occur over larger areas).

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Edmond Electric

1. Where does Edmond Electric get its power supply?: Edmond Electric is a member of the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority (OMPA). OMPA is a state governmental agency that provides low-cost, wholesale electricity to cities and towns that own their own electric systems. OMPA's power supply comes from a variety of resources such as wind, hydroelectric, natural gas, and coal.

2. What do I do to report my outage or downed power line?: To report an outage, call 405-216-7660. This number will get you in contact with our office staff during normal working hours and connect you to our Interactive Voice Response (IVR) for after-hours reporting. To report a downed power line which may be arcing, call 911 to get emergency assistance with public safety issues. The 911 dispatchers and/or emergency personnel will also make contact with Edmond Electric crews to make the line safe and return it to its original condition.

3. What if a powerline falls in my yard?: Make sure everyone stays away from the line and call 911 for emergency assistance with public safety issues. The 911 dispatchers and/or emergency responders will also make contact with Edmond Electric crews to make the line safe and return it to its original condition.

4. What if someone in the home has special medical problems or is on life-sustaining medical equipment?: Utility Customer Service keeps a list of medical accounts to make sure they are given extra consideration before disconnecting service for non-payment. During a power outage, these special medical problems should have a backup power supply like a generator if their condition is life threatening. If you need to get on the special medical list or want to make sure your on it, please call Utility Customer Service at 405-359-4541.

5. What is "partial power"?: A "partial power outage" is when there is power to part of a customer's electric service but not everything has power. This could also be caused by a tripped breaker on the customer's side in the panel disconnect.

6. Who fixes service connections to my house if they are damaged?: The service connections on the utility side of the electric meter are repaired by the utility. Service connection beyond the electric meter are the customer's responsibility.

7. How does Edmond Electric handle increased calls during major outages?: During normal working hours, calls are taken by office staff until the numbers of call takers is exceeded by the number of calls coming in. Then the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) starts taking calls. After normal working hours, the IVR has the capability of managing 46 incoming calls at one time. It takes approximately 15-20 seconds to enter the outage information if you have either your phone number or account information available while reporting the outage.

8. What are common causes of power outages?: The most common causes are critters such as squirrels and birds. While critters are the most common cause, these outages are usually repaired the quickest and through new work practices are easier to prevent. Larger power outages are typically caused by adverse weather conditions (i.e. thunderstorms, tornadoes, ice storms and high straight winds may occur over larger areas).

9. After priority customers are restored, how does Edmond Electric decide whose power to restore next?: Our priority customers consist of hospitals, public safety facilities (Police & Fire Departments) and water and wastewater treatment facilities. When these critical loads are restored, we look for areas where the most customers are affected and power can be restored quickly. This process of reducing the number of customers affected continues until all power is restored.

10. What causes my lights to go dim unexpectedly?: Dimming lights may occur when high current motors start. Air conditioners are a good example of motors which will dim the lights. When the lights blink and go completely out for a second or two, this is typically due to a momentary fault condition on the electric system which causes our automatic protection devices at the substation to operate which interrupts the fault condition minimizing damage to the electric system.

11. Why do I see Edmond Electric vehicles leave my neighborhood without restoring service to the area?: This will occur when the actual problem causing the power outages is located in a different location (i.e. out on the main lines serving the neighborhood or even farther back toward the source).

12. Why do some customers have power and their neighbors don't?: Depending on the cause of a power outage and where it is located, there may be separation points from one part of the electric distribution system to the other that minimizes the amount of exposure to power outages. This is frequently why one side of the street will have power while the neighboring street is in the dark.

13. Why is it hard for Edmond Electric to say how long it will take to get power restored?: At the beginning of a power outage, the cause may be unknown until crews have had a chance to troubleshoot the problem. Once the cause is found, the outage can generally have an estimated restoration time but there is also the chance of other problems that may arise during the repair process.