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Ice Storm 2020 FAQ

No matter how well electric utilities might be prepared, tornadoes, earthquakes, ice storms, and other natural and human-made disasters can cause significant damage to energy infrastructure, causing widespread power outages. Afterwards, electric companies must respond safely, swiftly and efficiently to restore service.

Outage restoration

Hospitals, first responders such as police and fire departments, 911 call centers and nursing homes have top priority.

Then utilities begin to replace or repair lines that will restore power to the largest number of consumers.

Never touch a downed line or any nearby wires. Assume every downed line is dangerous. Even telephone or cable lines can become energized and deadly.

Call 911 and notify your utility as soon as possible.

OG&E

405-272-9595 

800-522-6870 

PSO

Residential: 1-888-216-3523

Business: 1-888-776-1368

Liberty

1-800-206-2300


Electric Co-ops

Find phone numbers for your electric cooperative.


Concerns or complaints?

Let us know. Contact Consumer Services staff.

Report outages using your utility's contact information above.

Most utilities have an outage reporting system. Call centers are the next best source.
 

Okla. Co-ops

Liberty

When outages are widespread, evaluating damages and safe restoration can take many hours. Utility workers must follow numerous safety protocols to safely restore service. Damage to a single circuit can create widespread outages.
 
Some utilities provide automatic outage updates. 

Underground power lines  

Not all parts of the electrical system can be buried.
 
In some cases, it is unsafe to bury parts of the electric grid. It is uneconomical to relocate the entire system underground. This means that your service could still be interrupted by storm-related damage.

Many utilities routinely build lines underground in in new neighborhoods.
 
It is physically impossible to bury the entire electric system underground.
 
Retrofitting the existing infrastructure is logistically complicated and would cost roughly in the billions of dollars.
 
OCC staff conducted a study on moving the grid underground in 2008. Costs have increased since publication.

Storm-related damages 

Utilities are responsible for repairing the service lines, the service bracket, and the meter.

The customer is responsible for repairing the other parts attached to the house, such as the weather head, the service cable, and the meter socket/base. Customers are also responsible for any tree debris on their property.

The utility is responsible for vegetation management around the main lines that run from pole to pole. The homeowner is responsible for the maintenance of the line running from the pole to the weather head on the home. You can contact the utility company to have the line dropped and then re-installed after trimming is complete, or you can have the line buried at your expense.

Electric utilities under OCC jurisdiction must conduct vegetation management on a four-year cycle within the utility easements unless they have requested and received a waiver.

General storm-response-related questions

No. Such donations are funded by company shareholders. The OCC’s Public Utility Division, as well as other parties, audit these contributions to ensure these donations are not included for setting of customer rates.

Unfortunately scammers sometimes try to pose as utility company representatives. Utilities will not call you and ask for payment over the phone. Utilities will never ask you to settle a bill using cash or prepaid debit cards or gift cards.
  • If you suspect a scam, hang up and log into your online account or call your utility to determine if you have a balance that needs to be paid.
  • Delete any emails/texts that request “immediate action” to verify account details or demand personal information.
  • Ignore suspicious requests for personal information.
  • Don’t answer the door for unsolicited service offers.
  • Always ask for the employee’s ID badge (if not properly displayed where it can be seen).

Some electric and gas providers in the state have partnered with third parties to offer a product that will assist their customers with electric service's repair costs that are not the utility's responsibility. This is a voluntary option customers may choose to use. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission has no authority over such offers or services.
Last Modified on Nov 20, 2020
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