1/09/23 UPDATE 5:00 PM-- On the home stretch. We are down to 74 meters without power, but 50-60 of those are connected to the Redline sub, which should be fully restored soon.
After that, all residential meters should be powered up!! If your home is without power, please call and let us know at (785) 743-5561).
It has been a difficult 48 hours for our members and our linemen, but we are thankful that everyone should be home warm tonight.
There will still be some cleanup work over the next couple of days with farm and commercial meters, but today was a very productive day!!
Thank you once again for all of the kind words and your patience. We can build a strong system and plan for weather, but Mother Nature remains undefeated.
1/09/23UPDATE 2:00 PM-- Digging out!! Crews are making great progress by restoring large sections of meters. 385 meters remain without power. Substations with the most meters out include Riga, Prairie Home, and Redline.
If your house is still without power, please call (785) 743-5561 or 800-456-6720. At this point, we want to do our best to get all the residential meters on first.
The next update will be at 5:00 PM. Thank you for your patience!
1/09/23UPDATE 11:05 AM-- Outage restoration efforts continue. 800 meters remain without power. Repairs have been mostly wires and not broken poles. This is good news and will speed up our efforts.
Crews are currently working on Prairie Home, Ellis, RIga, Gove, and Arnold. Some roads are inaccessible due to 3'+ drifts, but crews are finding alternate routes.
Expect good progress to continue into the afternoon!!
The next update will be at 2:00 PM.
Thank you for your patience!
1/09/23 UPDATE 8:15 AM--Time to go to work! We sustained scattered outrages throughout the night. Currently, there are 1350 meters without power. Substations affected include Riga, Arnold, Ellis, Gove, Prairie Home, Redline, Quinter, and West WaKeeney.
Crews have been sent to these substations and will start working from the substation out to the individual meters (big to small). We are hopeful that breakers and fuses are a large portion of the outages and not broken poles, but we will not know until we can assess the damage.
Road conditions and snow drifting will be the biggest challenges today.
Last night, Ellsworth crews were able to continue to work through the night restoring meters in Ellsworth, Bunker Hill, Dorrance, and Wilson. Great job guys!
For a real-time outage map, visit https://www.westerncoop.com/outages-emergencies
We will provide another update later this morning between 10-11 AM when we have a better understanding of the extent of the damage.
1/08/23 UPDATE 8:00 PM-- Weather and visibility have deteriorated to the point where it is no longer safe for crews to operate vehicles. Linemen have been sent home until tomorrow morning. If you are currently without power, TAKE PRECAUTIONS AND MAKE PLANS to be without electricity until tomorrow.
Crews made progress at the end of the day, reducing the number of outages to 1158 meters. That's down from more than 2400 meters at 3:15 PM.
A couple of important reminders-- If you see downed powerlines, DO NOT approach them. Call Western at (785)743-5561 or call 911. Always treat powerlines as if they are energized, stay in your vehicle, and call emergency personnel. Also, due to the winds, there is a good chance lights will blink, or more power outages may occur overnight.
We will provide the next update at 9:00 AM after crews have been dispatched.
Thank you for all of the kind words for our linemen. They take great pride in restoring power to our members, but the conditions have made it impossible to work safely.
1/08/23 UPDATE 4:45 PM-- We've made tentative progress restoring nearly 1000 meters over the last few hours, particularly at the Gove and Grinnell subs. Crews are currently working at the Arnold and Prairie Home Substations.
High winds could change this trend in a hurry. Charge devices and gather supplies (blankets, flashlights, food, water, etc.) Stay prepared and stay safe.
The next update will be posted at 8:00 PM.
1/08/23 UPDATE 3:00 PM-- Currently, we have 2300+ meters without power. PREPARE FOR EXTENDED OUTAGES. It may be several hours or overnight until outages are restored. Currently, we have outages in Arnold, Gove, Grinnell, Grainfield, Quinter, Riga, West WaKeeney, Church, Redline, and Prairie Home.
Lines are galloping due to the wind and ice accumulation; as soon we get some line back on, the phases make contact, and it goes off again. The same goes for the high-voltage power lines feeding our substations. Crews are having a hard time seeing and getting around. Outages continue to move from west to east as the storm moves in that direction. We may have to pull crews in until winds die down or visibility improves.
I will give another update at 5 PM. Please know we are doing everything we can to restore power as fast as possible. #staysafe
1/08/23 UPDATE 3:00 PM-- PREPARE FOR EXTENDED OUTAGES. It may be several hours or overnight until outages are restored. Currently, we have outages in Arnold, Gove, Grinnell, Grainfield, Quinter, Riga, West WaKeeney, Church, Redline, and Prairie Home.
Lines are galloping due to the wind and ice accumulation; as soon we get some line back on, the phases make contact, and it goes off again. The same goes for the high-voltage power lines feeding our substations. Crews are having a hard time seeing and getting around. Outages continue to move from west to east as the storm moves in that direction. We may have to pull crews in until winds die down or visibility improves.
I will give another update at 5 PM. Please know we are doing everything we can to restore power as fast as possible. #staysafe
1/08/23UPDATE 2:25 PM-- The high voltage transmission line feeding Arnold, Gove, and Grinnell substations has opened leaving those three substations without power. I will try to provide a full system update at 3:00 PM and another at 5:00 PM. #StaySafe
1/08/23 UPDATE Paradise 11:30 am-- All power has been restored to the Paradise area. If you continue to be without power, please call our office at 785-743-5561.
Paradise-- Crews are responding to an outage in the Paradise area. We will provide more information as it becomes available. Thank you!
We are starting to experience multiple outages in the western portion of our service territory. Crews are en route to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. For a real-time outage map visit https://www.westerncoop.com/outages-emergencies Thank you for your patience.
It's going to be a nasty couple of days. Stay safe and warm, and be prepared! Ice accumulation on power lines coupled with high winds are the primary cause of winter storm outages. Our crews are ready to handle the worst conditions in order to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. For a real-time outage map, visit https://www.westerncoop.com/outages-emergencies