Corn Belt Energy continues storm restoration efforts amid daily weather challenges

 

[January 07, 2021] 

Corn Belt Energy continues to restore outages in the aftermath of the severe winter storms that wreaked havoc on our region over the past few days.

Late on New Year’s Eve and early on New Year’s Day, Corn Belt Energy’s service area was impacted by an ice storm, which caused damage to lines and trees and resulted in widespread power outages. This storm was followed by a snow storm less than two days later. The accumulation of snow brought on additional weight to the existing ice-covered lines and trees and caused further power outages.

During typical storm restoration efforts, a storm passes through the region damaging electrical equipment and power outages occur. At that time, Corn Belt Energy starts restoration efforts and continually restores power to members reducing the number of overall outages.

However, the effects of this storm have caused a unique sequence of outages occurring over time and each day has presented more challenges. As we have been restoring power to members, the weather conditions continued to cause additional damage to our system and subsequently over the days following the initial ice and snow storms, trees and lines continued to fall at various times. This is why some areas that did not experience outages initially as the ice and snow storms rolled through our region experienced outages two or even three days later and why some locations have had more than one outage over the past few days.

While the winter storms resulted in damages including broken poles, broken cross arms, downed lines and downed trees in lines, other outages have occurred as a result of vehicle accidents as well as loss of transmission feed to one of Corn Belt Energy’s substations in the southern part of our service area. The transmission feed is provided by a company other than Corn Belt Energy.

Safety and restoration of power continues to be our top priority. We have brought in crews from five other Illinois electric cooperatives to assist us in our restoration efforts. Crews have been actively engaged in the restoration process since early morning on Friday, January 1, 2021, and continue to work 24/7 restoring outages.

“We are overwhelmed by the patience and understanding of our members during this difficult time.,” stated Don Taylor, President & CEO. “And even amidst a pandemic, the generosity that our crews have received while out in the public is truly amazing. We know that this is a difficult time for many and are extremely grateful for the outpouring of kindness,” stated Taylor.

As a reminder, people should not go near downed power lines, downed poles, or trees near lines. We encourage members to contact us at 1-800-879-0339 to report power outages and downed lines or poles.

Corn Belt Energy encourages members to check on neighbors who may be without power, especially the elderly and those with physical limitations. We urge members who are concerned about prolonged outages to find an alternative location to stay such as a relative or friend’s home, hotel or a local warming center.

To check for outage updates, members can call 1-800-879-0339 or use their mobile device to view outage updates on SmartHub, www.cornbeltenergy.com

[Hillary Cherry]