Report an Outage

Although we are committed to providing you the most reliable electric possible, 24 hours a day, every day, events that are out of our control sometimes occur. Car accidents, Animals, Lightning, High winds, Winter storms. Whatever its cause, when an outage occurs, we do our best to restore power as quickly as possible.

Our technology helps us identify when large blocks of customers are without power, but it does not tell us where individual outages occur. Your calls to Report an Outage, 874-125 (local) or 1- 877-874-1215 (toll free) provides more detailed information about the outage than we could otherwise obtain. We count on your help, and we thank you for your assistance.

When damage is widespread - such as after a severe storm - it may be impossible to restore electric service to everyone at the same time. After resolving any issues that may have occurred at a substation or transmission line, Tri-County crews begin restoring power to areas serving the greatest number of customers and continue working until all customers have been restored. We understand that losing power is inconvenient and frustrating. Sometimes your circuit may be among the first repaired, and other   not. When there is a delay in restoring your power, we appreciate your patience.

Restoring power to your home is a complex and dangerous job. Sometimes, after a line is repaired in one location, other damage causes the line to go out again. At other times, it may be necessary to turn off your power once more to safely repair other problems. In any case, our crews work to restore your power again as soon as safely possible. If your power comes back on, then goes off again, please let us know by calling 874-125 (local) or 1-877-874-1215.

YES, but please follow the manufacturer’s directions. A generator can be a wonderful tool during an outage, especially if you have special medical needs and require electricity but it can also be extremely dangerous if used improperly. The improper connection of a generator to your home’s electrical circuits may endanger service crews helping to restore power in your area.

Most distribution lines are protected by special devices called breakers and reclosers. They not only cut off power when a permanent fault such as a downed line occurs, they also sense momentary faults - such as when a tree limb falls on a line and creates a brief short circuit - and, after a short time, they reclose and re-energize the circuit. If the tree limb has fallen clear of the line, as frequently happens, the short-circuit condition no longer exists and the line will stay energized. When this occurs, there is a momentary loss of power (typically less than a few seconds) to the customers on that circuit.

Power comes into your house through a piece of electrical equipment called the service panel. From your home's service panel, electricity is routed through individual circuits to different parts of the house. Each circuit is protected by a circuit breaker or fuse. The first thing, when you have power in some circuits but not others, is to check whether a circuit breaker is tripped or a fuse is blown. If your breakers or fuses are okay, there is another possibility. Most houses are supplied with electricity through three wires. If one of the wires breaks or becomes damaged, you may have power only in some circuits, and heavy-duty electric appliances - such as air conditioners, hot water heaters, clothes dryers, or ranges - may not operate. In that case, call 874-125 (local) or 1-877-874-1215.

You are only charged for the amount of electricity you use. During the time your service was interrupted your meter did not register electric usage and you will not be charged for any consumption.

Outages due to weather are beyond our control, and although we attempt to restore power as quickly and safely as possible, extensive damage can take several days to repair. Unfortunately, Tri-County does not reimburse customers for equipment damaged or food lost during a weather-related outage. Customers should contact their renters or homeowner’s insurance carrier to determine if their policies cover such losses.

It is your responsibility to protect your equipment from power outages and fluctuations. To protect highly sensitive equipment, install sensors designed to shut off the power supply if substantial power fluctuations occur. Unprotected equipment should be unplugged, or the circuit breaker shut-off, until power is restored. We suggest leaving one light on so you’ll know when power has been restored. Once power has been restored for about 10 minutes, equipment should be brought back online in stages. Energize one breaker or fuse (or large piece of equipment) at a time and ensure the equipment is working before moving to the next breaker or fuse. This provides additional protection for your equipment. In addition, waiting 10 minutes before resetting the breakers or fuses helps eliminate problems that can occur if equipment is brought back online before Tri-County’s system is stabilized.