Pardon Our Progress
On Monday, January 17, there will be a planned power outage affecting about 1,200 meters east of Mineola in the Hoard region. This outage could last 3 to 5 hours and will begin around 8 a.m.
This outage marks the beginning of the construction process for a new substation that will offer much more reliability, while accommodating future load growth. During construction the load will be served by a mobile substation, while equipment is removed from the existing substation pad and replaced. Construction is expected to be completed by early summer.
What Members Should Do
- Before the outage, turn off appliances and electronics like washers, dryers, dishwashers, HVAC units, ovens, stoves and computers. Doing so, will prevent them from coming on unexpectedly when power is restored, and help crews reenergize more quickly.
- Prior to the outage, take an inventory of your need/reliance on electricity. Plan to have portable chargers, batteries, bottled water and such on hand if you will require them.
- If you have medical devices that rely on electricity, have a back-up plan to ensure operation, or a backup location to go to.
- If you have an electric garage door or gate, ensure you can manually open them.
- Operate generators outdoors in well-ventilated areas to avoid deadly carbon monoxide.
Never connect a generator directly to household wiring. Instead, plug appliances into the generator. Otherwise, for a direct connection a double pole, double throw transfer switch that was installed by a qualified electrician can be used. This ensures electricity does not back-feed onto our line to pose electrocution risks to our crews.
During the Outage
- Keep freezers and refrigerators closed. Food should remain safe for the length of the outage.
- If you did not do so prior, disconnect appliances and computers now.
- It is always a good idea to report your outage using one of our computerized tools, even in a planned outage. That way, you can request a power restoration notification. When power is restored, you’ll get an email, text or call. If you’ve moved to another location, you’ll know when power is up and running. More importantly, there could be an individual outage or two after the substation is restored. If you receive notice that your power is on, and it’s not, you’ll know to re-report it, which will get crews on it quickly. Here’s how to report Outages.
- Follow along on our Facebook page to see the progress.
In summary, we never want any of our members or our meters to be without power. This construction is a necessary and important investment in your security. We’ll work our hardest to keep this interruption to a minimum. Thank you for understanding, as we work for you.