Power restoration is a process

Dear Valued Member,

As April arrives, it brings with it the showers that produce spring flowers. It also heralds the beginning of a potentially stormy season that can inherently include power outages. While Surry-Yadkin EMC strives to provide reliable electricity to our members, there are times when Mother Nature has other plans. Most of us can ride out a storm from the comfort and convenience of our homes. However, there is a group of professionals that spring into action when the weather takes a turn for the worst — co-op lineworkers.

The major cause of most power outages comes from damage to power lines due to falling trees and branches. We work year-round — through routine right-of-way clearing programs — to ensure power lines in our service territory stand little risk of being damaged by trees, branches or other types of vegetation.

Despite our best efforts, during major storms, damage can occur to transmission delivery points, substations and power lines. When this happens, our first priority is to safely restore power to as many members as possible in the shortest amount of time.

We start by assembling and then mobilizing our line crews and other critical staff. Phone lines and the SmartHub app are utilized to take your outage reports. The outages affecting the largest number of members linked to our main feeders are handled first — like damage to transmission lines, which serve thousands of people. These problems must be corrected before we can focus on other areas where more localized damage may have occurred.

Surry-Yadkin EMC’s line crews inspect substations to determine if the problem starts there, or if there could be an issue down the line. If the root of the problem is at the substation, power can be restored to thousands of members.

Next, line crews check the distribution lines that deliver power into neighborhoods and communities. Line crews repair the damaged lines, restoring power to hundreds of people. If you continue to experience an outage, there may be damage to the line section feeding your community or outside of your home or business. Make sure you notify Surry-Yadkin EMC so crews can inspect these lines.

Once a crew finds the cause of an outage, there is a series of safety measures they must perform before they can begin working to make repairs and restore power. This begins with identifying the source, then isolating it and tagging the line. They test it and ground it. Setting up those safety measures can take up to 45 minutes if the line is accessible by truck. This process will take longer if the lineworkers must carry their gear in and climb the poles to apply grounds. Once grounds are in place, crews begin clearing all existing faults such as downed trees, animals, vines, etc., as well as repairing damage to the lines and equipment. If a pole is broken and needs to be replaced, that could add two to three hours or more to the repair time depending on how hard it is to access.

These unknown circumstances are why we historically have not provided an estimated time of restoration (ETR) during outages. Our goal is to be as accurate as possible with the information we provide our members. We will continue exploring the option of providing ETRs in the future.

In our community, Surry-Yadkin EMC lineworkers are responsible for upkeep of more than 4,000 miles of lines across five counties, in order to bring power to your home and our local community 24/7, regardless of the weather, holidays or personal considerations. During hurricanes, winter weather or storms, crews often work around the clock to restore power.

We do our best to prevent power outages, but we also cannot control the weather. Be sure to check Surry-Yadkin EMC’s Storm Center at syemc.com or our social media pages on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates during a power outage.

Cooperatively yours,

Greg Puckett Executive Vice President & General Manager