3/4/25 Evening Update
Mother Nature has sure put on a show today! We went from severe/tornado warned storms to clear skies to sustained winds of at least 30 mph. We have not received confirmation at this point, but it is very likely that several areas in our service territory were hit by a tornado or at the very least, straight line winds. With the extent of the damage that has been assessed already today, members should expect this to be a **MULTI-DAY OUTAGE. Please plan accordingly. **
At our peak this morning, we had over 18,000 meters without power. Our current outage count is fluctuating between 8,600-9,200. The winds that moved in this afternoon have impacted us in more ways than we care to count. We went from making steady progress this morning/early afternoon, to dealing with setbacks due to the wind. Our line crews have been out in the elements (rain, shine, or wind) all day to make repairs to our system.
Current estimates have us at over 20+ broken distribution poles and 5 broken transmission poles. We have also received reports of numerous broken cross arms, blown fuses, and other damaged equipment.
Our cooperative was not the only utility in East Texas or even the surrounding states, that was affected by this storm system. The majority of sister cooperatives and other electric utilities were also affected in some capacity by damage and outages.
Southwest Arkansas Electric Cooperative and CoServ Electric have answered our call and will be coming to our aid! We anticipate hearing from more of our friends from around the state by tomorrow morning!
Outage by Counties:
Bowie- 3,606
Cass- 1,828
Franklin- 66
Morris- 779
Red River- 294
Titus- 2,331
Outage Reports: 877-707-2232 or through the mobile app.
Treat any and all downed power lines as LIVE and DANGEROUS! Do not attempt to drive over or move them!