UPDATE: March 24, 2:30 pm—Crews continue to make good progress toward restoring power to our members. Western went from 2500 meters without power yesterday to currently less than 900. While the total number of members without power drops, unfortunately, the number of broken poles and damage has grown. As roads improved yesterday, linemen discovered more damage.

The total number of broken poles Western experienced from this storm is now over 250. Many sections of line that linemen patrolled early during the storm sustained damage from the high winds later in the day. Crews have had to re-inspect miles of power lines before electricity can safely be restored.

Ellis, Rooks, and Trego counties still account for 90% of the remaining outages. Some of the heaviest damage occurred at the Redline and Palco substations and between Ellis and Schoenchen. Many rural members in those areas can expect at least another day without power.

We will not be satisfied until all members have had power restored. Unfortunately, several meters scattered through our service area will be without power until Friday and possibly into Saturday.

In addition to five mutual aid crews already helping Western, Prairie Land Electric has sent crews from the Concordia area to assist in repairs. Thank you for being so patient as we strive to restore and re-build our system as safely and quickly as possible.

 

UPDATE: March 23, 10:05 am-- Along with the mutual aid crews, Western linemen from Ellsworth and Olmitz will be helping to make significant progress toward restoring power today.

WaKeeney will have several mutual aid crews helping repair damages today. Crews will be working near the Ellis substation, hoping to have Scheonchen energized today. There will also be crews working from the Redline, Palco, Riga, Yocemento, and Arnold substations.

The Plainville outpost will have several additional crews helping in the city and the Natoma and Codell areas. Hopefully, we will have power restored to a majority of Rooks county today.

Olmitz crews will be finishing up on the larger outages in Rush Co. and start working their way out to the rural customers.

There are still over 100 broken poles in our system, broken cross-arms, and wire damage, so there is a significant amount of work left to be done. Thank you for all the encouraging words and patience!!

 

UPDATE: March 22, 4:57 pm-- 2.5" of ice accumulation on power lines coupled with 50-60 mph gusts has caused widespread outages and over 150 broken poles in Western's service territory. That equates to over 7 miles worth of broken poles. In addition to the damage, ice, snow, and mud continue to slow down restoration efforts.

Eighteen additional linemen from J and J Powerline Contractors, Southern Pioneer, and Wheatland Electric will work with the Western crews to restore power quickly and safely as part of the Kansas mutual aid program.

At this time we think most of the major feeds will be restored today, but there will still be many scattered outages that crews will not be able to restore tonight.

Olmitz has crews working on restoring the Olmitz substation. They are hoping to get power restored to Bison, Liebenthal, Schoenchen, and Timken tonight, but know several rural members may remain without power tonight.

Plainville sustained major damage to a major high voltage power line. They are working at feeding the substation from a different direction that should restore power to most members tonight. Including most of Plainville, Codell, and Natoma. In the next couple of days, they will have significant construction that will need to be done.

WaKeeney's damage in the Western half of our service territory is so widespread that crews are still assessing the damage. We know the Palco, Redline, and Saline River substations received significant damage and will most likely remain without power for the night and into tomorrow. Everything west of WaKeeney will most likely be restored today. Ellis area will continue to have scattered outages through the night and into tomorrow.

Please take the proper precautions if you are without power. The mutual aid crews along with Western's linemen are working as quickly and safely as possible. Thank you for your patience.

 

WaKeeney, KS, March 22, 2022-- At Western Cooperative Electric, we strive to serve our members with a constant, reliable source of electricity. However, freezing rain mixed with severe wind has caused power outages across a large section of our service area. Our goal is to safely restore electrical service to every home and business as quickly as possible. However, we know that some members may experience an extended delay in service.

We ask for your patience as we do our best to respond to the effects of this storm. The weather conditions that caused significant outages have also made getting around the countryside difficult. As of 4:00 p.m., Western has power outages affecting approximately 3,000 meters. The power outage areas most impacted include Rooks, Ellis, Trego, Rush, Graham, and Osborne counties.

Power is first restored to substations, major lines, and critical infrastructure when an outage occurs. Line crews are making significant progress toward repairing substations lines and hope to have most of the main feeds restored by the end of the day.

Currently, we are aware of roughly 150 downed power poles, which equates to over seven miles of downed power poles. That number could climb as crews continue to assess the damage. With so much severe damage, some residents and businesses could be without electricity for an extended time.

Western has requested assistance from other power companies who participate in the Kansas mutual aid program. Eighteen linemen from J and J Powerline Contractors, Southern Pioneer, and Wheatland Electric will work with the Western crews to restore power quickly and safely.

Although we post service updates to social media, we do not monitor social media for reports of outages. All emergencies must be reported by phone. To report an outage or a downed power line, call 1-800-456-6720. To view a real-time outage map or receive updates visit our website at www.westerncoop.com.

UPDATE: March 22, 4:57 pm-- 2.5" of ice accumulation on power lines coupled with 50-60 mph gusts has caused widespread outages and over 150 broken poles in Western's service territory. That equates to over 7 miles worth of broken poles. In addition to the damage, ice, snow, and mud continue to slow down restoration efforts.

Eighteen additional linemen from J and J Powerline Contractors, Southern Pioneer, and Wheatland Electric will work with the Western crews to restore power quickly and safely as part of the Kansas mutual aid program.

At this time we think most of the major feeds will be restored today, but there will still be many scattered outages that crews will not be able to restore tonight.

Olmitz has crews working on restoring the Olmitz substation. They are hoping to get power restored to Bison, Liebenthal, Schoenchen, and Timken tonight, but know several rural members may remain without power tonight.

Plainville sustained major damage to a major high voltage power line. They are working at feeding the substation from a different direction that should restore power to most members tonight. Including most of Plainville, Codell, and Natoma. In the next couple of days, they will have significant construction that will need to be done.

WaKeeney's damage in the Western half of our service territory is so widespread that crews are still assessing the damage. We know the Palco, Redline, and Saline River substations received significant damage and will most likely remain without power for the night and into tomorrow. Everything west of WaKeeney will most likely be restored today. Ellis area will continue to have scattered outages through the night and into tomorrow.

Please take the proper precautions if you are without power. The mutual aid crews along with Western's linemen are working as quickly and safely as possible. Thank you for your patience.