BARC Electric Cooperative is
assessing the widespread damage caused by the winter storm that struck the
territory overnight. It is estimated that approximately 6,300 customers (50% of
BARC’s customers) are without electric service.
Most of the outages are caused by heavy snow accumulation causing trees
and tree branches to collapse on the electric system.
Customers are reminded to stay
clear of downed or sagging wires. As fallen wires may be hidden by trees, snow
or debris, extreme caution should be used when moving through an outage zone.
Fallen wires can still be energized and dangerous. If a power line falls on a
vehicle, occupants should stay inside and wait for rescue crews.
Customers without power are
encouraged to report their outages by calling (800) 846-2272. Outages reported via the automated system or
to a live operator will result in a printed outage ticket in BARC’s emergency
operations center. BARC dispatchers will
be logging and dispatching crews, focusing first on restoring the transmission
system and three-phase circuits to restore power to as many customers as
possible in the shortest period of time.
Restoration efforts will be
hampered by road and weather conditions, and it will likely be several days
before power can be restored to all customers.
Customers should consider making alternate arrangements to stay
elsewhere if needed.