After a major storm, some CCEC members have wondered why their power was still off when houses nearby had their lights back on.  At such a time it’s easy to wonder if your cooperative has forgotten you or if others have some “inside” connection.

The fact is, our primary responsibility is to get electricity restored to as many people as possible – as quickly as possible.  We do have some services that take priority, such as law enforcement offices, rescue squads, fire departments and people requiring life-support equipment who cannot be moved.  Otherwise, restoring electric power is a very logical process.

Normally, the first location we check when an outage occurs is the source of the power, the substation.  Then, following power lines like the spokes of a wheel, the linemen work their way out on the main distribution line (or circuit), repairing any damage they find and restoring service to that line as they go.

As we repair the distribution line and move on, some homes might remain in the dark.  That’s because they try to get the power on for the most people in the shortest time.  It’s useless to repair a tap line (which takes power from the main distribution line to several houses) or an individual wire attached to a house if the main line has no power.  No electricity would flow into the homes on the tap line or into the individual home until the main line is repaired.  Also, making repairs at individual homes first would mean that many other members would be left without power for an even longer period of time. 

Only after all of the high voltage lines are repaired do we take care of problems at individual homes.  Carteret-Craven works year-round to provide you with the most dependable electric service possible.  That effort includes establishing this pre-arranged plan for restoring service in the event of an outage, which helps us serve you in the most efficient manner possible.

Storm Restoration Chart

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