Restoration work continues aided by additional crews coming from sister and neighboring utilities. The company cautions that some outages could extend into Wednesday and Thursday.
PORTLAND, Ore. (Feb. 15, 2021) — Nearly 360 Pacific Power employees and contractors continued to assess and repair damage caused by a series of storms that brought heavy ice and snow to the region.
Joining Pacific Power crews on Tuesday morning are 75 additional personnel from Rocky Mountain Power, MidAmerican Energy and Nevada Energy and other regional utilities.
At times during the past few days upwards of 80,000 customers from across the Willamette Valley up to Portland and along the North Coast experienced service disruption due to the destructive ice storms. As of 7 p.m. today, that total has dropped to 28,000 customers.
“Crews made good progress today given how widespread the damage is,” said Allen Berreth, vice president of operations. “Removing large tree limbs and fixing broken crossarms and replacing poles is our focus as crews work safely and as swiftly as possible to get service back online for customers. We’re grateful for the additional help coming in from other utilities and we will continue to apply every resource we have until all customers have power.”
The company released a new interactive map where customers can view estimated times of restoration in the Willamette Valley by entering an address. The map is available at pacificpower.net/outages-safety/restoration-status.html.
Pacific Power encourages customers to report outages by calling 1-877-508-5088 or text OUT to 722797. Text STAT to 722797 to check the status of your outage.
To ease the inconvenience of power outages and assist crews in restoring power, Pacific Power suggests the following tips and safety precautions:
- Stay away from all downed power lines and utility lines. Even if the lines are not sparking, they could be energized and extremely dangerous. Call 911 and report the outage to Pacific Power at 1-877-508-5088.
- Don’t drive over downed power lines.
- Maintain safe distances from workers. Repair work is being done under our COVID-19 safety protocols. Waves and acknowledgement are welcome, but please allow crews to do their work at an appropriate distance both for operational and COVID-19 safety.
- If there is damage to your service mast or weather head, where the powerline connects to your home or business, you will need to contact a licensed electrician for repairs before service can be restored. Our crews can only work on company-owned equipment.
- Check on your neighbors, especially those who may need special assistance. Also, check with others who have electricity, to see if you can visit.
- If you have power at this time, keep mobile devices charged so that may be used in an emergency. Before anything happens, download the Pacific Power app to your smart device so you can have information readily available.
- Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed. Most food requiring refrigeration can be kept safely in a closed refrigerator for several hours. An unopened refrigerator will keep food cold for about 4 hours. A full freezer will keep the temperature for about 48 hours.
- Remember your pets! Pets who spend a lot of time outdoors need more food in the winter because keeping warm depletes energy.
- If you are using alternate heat or cooking sources, remember to allow plenty of ventilation. Never burn charcoal for heating or cooking indoors.
- If you are using a generator, make sure to follow all manufacturer’s instructions. Make sure the generator is outside and not near any household air intakes. Do not connect the generator directly to your breaker box as this can create a dangerous situation for crews working on the powerlines. Instead, plug essential appliances directly into the generator.