Outages

To Report an Outage call (864) 488-8800 or Use SmartHub .

At the BPW, we are committed to providing you with reliable power. However, sometimes there are situations where power outages occur. Severe weather, accidents, and animals are just a few situations that can disrupt and cause a power outage within our system. We are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and pride ourselves on restoring power to our customers as soon as possible.                           

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A few helpful tips to help us better serve you:

  • Check to see if your neighbors are without power. If your home is the only one without power, check your circuit breakers or fuses. Often times, power outages are the result of a household issue. If those are not the problem, call our office.
  • Do not assume we know about your outage. Call us as soon as possible or use SmartHub to report the outage.

A few helpful tips for customer during an outage:

  • If someone in your home is dependent on electric-powered, life-sustaining equipment, it's important to have a backup plan and implement it during outages.
  • Never approach a fallen power line or attempt to move an object away from a fallen power line. Always treat a downed line as live and dangerous. Report the problem to us or your local emergency services department.
  • If a severe storm is occurring, monitor the media as much as possible for updates and important information. Having a Weather Radio can alert you to potentially life-threatening weather. Weather Radio Apps are available for your mobile device.
  • Keep your refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a full freezer will hold its temperature for about 48 hours (24 hours if half full). A refrigerator will keep food cold for about 4 hours if the doors are kept closed.
  • Consider unplugging as many appliances and electronics as possible. By doing this, you will help prevent circuit overload when the power is restored and also reduce potential damage to sensitive equipment (e.g. televisions, microwave ovens, computers, etc.).
  • Use generators safely!  Connect the equipment you want to power directly to the outlets on the generator.  Never connect a portable generator to a home's electrical system.  This could injure or kill utility workers trying to restore power.
     

After the Outage:

If the outage is related to severe weather:

  • Check outside where the power line is attached to your home.  Damage to wiring coming in to your home, the weatherhead, conduit, and/or the meter base is the responsibility of the homeowner and will need to be repaired before we can restore your power.  When in doubt, call ECU... we're here to help.
  • Inspect the power line between your house and the power pole.  Damage to this line may be the reason your neighbor has power but you do not.  Call our office to report the problem.
  • After power is restored, begin turning on appliances one at a time.
     

Restoration Priority of Power During a Major Outage:

  1. Substations
  2. Main Distribution Lines
  3. Taps off of the Distribution Lines
  4. Individual Service Drops
  • Crews work to fix problems that will benefit the most people in the shortest amount of time.  Work is not assigned based on when an outage was reported, where a customer lives or the status of a customer's account.

 

It's important to take necessary steps prior to an outage to be prepared when unexpected events occur and the power goes out.  The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recommends everyone become educated about and prepare for emergencies.  Follow this link for tips: http://www.ready.gov/kit.