The Public Service Co. of Oklahoma, (PSO) is continuing to respond to weather-related outages across its service area including large portions of Western and Southwest Oklahoma.
PSO crews, along with additional crews and support personnel, are continuing to assess damage and make repairs, Mike Hixson, manager of External Affairs with PSO said.
Below are estimated times for restoration for the vast majority of customers who can take service. Many customers will be restored earlier than the estimated time. Weatherford is estimated to have power back by, 10 p.m. Friday. Clinton, Elk City and Hobart are estimated to have power back by, 1 p.m. Friday.
PSO is coordinating with local emergency management authorities as restoration continues.
There was winter mix of rain, snow, sleet, freezing rain and gusty winds which affected many parts of PSO’s service area beginning Monday morning and continuing through Wednesday evening.
Outages peaked Wednesday when more than 36,000 customers were without power at one time. Since the beginning of the storm Monday, more than 107,000 customers in Western and Southwest Oklahoma have experienced outages, with more than 95,000 customers restored. The current outage count as of Thursday afternoon, is 10,900.
PSO currently has more than 1,000 workers, including lineworkers, tree crews and support staff, dedicated to restoring power safely and as quickly as possible.
PSO wants to remind everyone all restoration estimates are for customers whose property is in condition to receive power. If the electric service entrance (meter loop) to a home or business has been damaged or pulled away from the structure, one will need to have it repaired by a licensed electrician before PSO can re-connect service.
For people’s safety, PSO said assume any downed utility line is energized with deadly electric current. Stay away from the line and do not touch it with anything. Report it to PSO at (888) 218-3919.
PSO asks people to not approach crews and utility vehicles they see in a neighborhood to ask when power will be restored. Doing so could jeopardize a person’s safety. Outward vision from the large utility vehicles can be limited. A crew may not see someone who has walked up to their work truck.
If someone uses a generator, they should follow the manufacturer’s operating instructions. Do not operate the unit indoors. Connect appliances directly to the generator’s electric outlets, not to the main electrical panel of a home or business unless an electric load transfer switch is installed to isolate a home’s wiring from PSO’s electric system. Otherwise, one jeopardizes the safety of utility workers.
If people want to track power outages, PSO said there are some ways to track this. One way is to use the mobile app, available for download via the App Store or Google Play. Visit PSOklahoma.com/OutageMap to find detailed information without logging into one’s account. One can sign up for text and email updates, including estimated time of restoration, at PSOklahoma.com/account/alerts/ and one can call (888) 218-3919 to report an outage. For updates and photos, follow @PSOklahoma on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and NextDoor.