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How Your Electric Power is Restored.
Do You Know?
We are constantly asked
"...It seems like I am the last one on my street to have
power restored during an outage. Why?..."
Although we would like it, restoring your electricity all at
once is not as easy as a "flick of the switch".
Restoring service to thousands of affected people after a
major outage is a big job with many complex task that must
be done. Our main goal is to safely restore power to
the greatest number of members in the shortest time possible
and get everyone back on. During major outages that
impact a large number of people in a certain area, we can't
always restore everyone's power in a hour or two, but you
can be assured that Sawnee EMC employees will be working for
you until the job is done.
Below is a series of steps
that outline the process that Sawnee EMC uses to restore
your power during a major outage. We hope this will
provide some useful insights into what happens when the
"lights go out".
1. Transmission lines
bring power to our systems from generating plants. If
these lines go out, they must be restored first.
2. Substations
interface transmission lines to Sawnee EMC's main circuits.
Remember, substations must be functioning before any other
part of our distribution system can carry power to your home
or business. Substation restoration is Sawnee EMC's
first priority in restoring power.
3. After the substatons
are functioning, we focus on main circuits. Main
circuits leave the substation and carry electric power
throughout our service territory. Main circuits serve
as the "backbone" of our system. "Tap" lines leave the
main circuits to carry power to relatively "small" groups of
consumers.
4. "Taps" carry
electricity to smaller numbers (an entire subdivision may be
a "small" number when compared to a main circuit) of
consumers. Repairs of taps begin after main circuits
are functioning.
5. Service lines may
attach to main circuits or taps and supply power to only one
or two locations. Repairs to service lines come near
the end of a major event.
We dislike outages as much as
you do. We want your power to be on all of the time.
But, when it does go out, we will do everything possible to
get it back on quickly. Remember, for your safety,
to stay away from downed power lines at all times.
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