SWEPCO One Voice #3 – 4/30/2020
Ark-La-Tex storm

Severe storms moved through the Ark-La-Tex early Wednesday, causing extensive damage to SWEPCO’s electric system and leaving approximately 35,000 customers without power.

At 11 a.m. Thursday, approximately 5,400 customers were without power, including 3,400 in Arkansas, 1,300 in Louisiana and 700 in Texas.

SWEPCO and contractor crews are working to restore power as safely and quickly as possible. Workers are practicing social distancing and other measures to stay healthy and prevent the spread of coronavirus, making the recovery effort especially challenging.

ESTIMATED TIMES OF RESTORATION

Here are estimated times of restoration for 95% of customers in cities and surrounding areas with the largest numbers of remaining outages. Work continues in all areas. Your power may be restored sooner.

• Hornbeck and Natchitoches, LA – 6 p.m. today (Thursday)

• DeQueen and Nashville, AR – 11:59 p.m. today (Thursday)

• Kilgore, TX – 5 p.m. today (Thursday)

“We know this latest wave of severe storms makes life even more difficult as we all are dealing with the coronavirus pandemic,” said Drew Seidel, SWEPCO Vice President – Distribution Operations. “We appreciate everyone’s patience and cooperation as our crews have worked to restore service while maintaining physical distancing and other safe work practices for our crews and the community.”

SAFETY:

KEEP A SAFE DISTANCE: Help utility crews stay safe and healthy while working to restore your power. Maintain at least six feet of physical distance between yourself and SWEPCO field personnel as we all play a crucial role in preventing the spread of coronavirus.

DOWNED POWER LINES: Never touch a downed utility wire, no matter how harmless it looks. It can be difficult to distinguish between a power line and a cable or telephone line. All downed lines should be considered energized and dangerous. And don't touch anything in contact with the line, such as trees, fences or puddles of water, since they can conduct electricity. Keep children and pets away from this potential hazard. Call SWEPCO to report any downed lines or equipment.

PORTABLE GENERATORS: If you use a portable or RV generator, do not plug the generator into your circuit box. Portable generators "backfeed" electricity up the line and risk the lives of repair workers and the public. Follow the manufacturers' instructions carefully, and plug essential appliances directly into the generator.

OUTAGE INFO:

SWEPCO Mobile App – Report outages, check outage status, and more. Download at App Store or Google Play.

SWEPCO Alerts – Get an email or text message with the latest info for your home or business. See SWEPCO.com/Alerts.

SWEPCO.com – outage map, report outages, safety information