WhereElectricity Comes From Steps to restoring power after an OUTAGE

Your power is out and you’re stuck in the dark. You see a Pioneer Electric truck with flashing lights headed down your road. You get your hopes up— until the driver passes by your house without stopping. You may wonder why he skipped you, but really, that isn’t what’s happened at all!

“Riding the lines” — when a Pioneer Electric crew member drives through the community during an outage to visually inspect the condition of our lines in real time — is an important part of the power restoration process. That driver is helping identify the problem that needs to be fixed in order for us to restore service. We need to locate the tree limb on the line or the blown transformer or the animal that had an unfortunate encounter with our equipment.

Many times, we know the source of an outage, especially if it’s due to an equipment failure at substation, for example. But it’s not always that simple, and linemen sometimes have to be detectives. Our power lines — especially those running through swampy areas — aren’t always easy to access.

While we know it’s frustrating to watch a Pioneer Electric

Help us help you!

We might already know about your outage

Thanks to our advanced metering system, we usually know within minutes when an outage occurs. However, there are times when a meter may not communicate with us properly, so always report an outage.

Contact us

You can always report outages by calling 1-800-533-0323 or by texting “OUT” to 85700 (requires enrollment). You can also report outages using our SmartHub app.

Check the Outages Map

If you’re part of an already-identified outage, your location will show up on our outage map. You can view the map at maps.pioneerelectric.com.

truck pass you by as you sit waiting in the dark, keep in mind that the cause of your outage may be miles away from your home. Restoring power is an orderly process, and riding the lines is usually the first step in a long sequence.

We always appreciate your patience. It’s our job to get your power back on, and we don’t like to waste any time doing so. No matter the conditions, we always put safety first. This means carrying out the restoration process in the right order, doing whatever investigative work is required and making decisions that allow our linemen to go home safely every day. n