April 1, 2023 - 9:45 a.m.: Less than 1,000 remain without power in Lewis County after last night’s storms. Crews worked through the night and continue efforts this morning.
The damage includes broken poles and downed power lines concentrated to the southeast to northeast portion of the county. In addition to local crews, linemen from other districts are assisting in repair efforts. Barring unforeseen circumstances, crews are aiming to restore power to all members by early Sunday.
Some of the more impacted areas in Lewis County are as follows:
- Buffalo Road
- Summertown Highway
- Rockhouse Road
- Grinders Creek
- Metal Ford Road
- Tiger Bennett Road
- Cochran Road
- Seiber Ridge Road
At the height of the storm, approximately 2,500 were without power across MLEC’s five-county service area. Excluding Lewis County, all other areas were back to normal operations by 7:00 a.m. except for isolated cases where homeowners will have to make repairs in order for our crews to fully restore service.
MLEC reminds members to follow these guidelines as crews continue work:
- If you do not have electric service, please call your local office or the after-hours call center at 1-888-879-6038. The call volume is high, so you may receive an automated message or busy signal. You can also report outages using the MLEC mobile app, but social media is not monitored for reporting.
- If you or someone in your home uses special medical equipment, follow your emergency plan and make arrangements to be moved to a location that has electricity if necessary.
- Contact MLEC if you see power lines on the ground or caught in trees and do not try to move them. If touched, they could cause electrocution or serious injury.
- Use extreme caution when using a generator. If you own a generator, contact MLEC. A generator can send electricity back through electric lines and electrocute linemen or others involved in restoration efforts. See www.mlec.com for proper generator installation and use.
- Keep refrigerators and freezers closed as much as possible to retain the inside temperature.
- If the weatherhead at your home is torn down, an electrician will need to repair this before MLEC can restore power.
- If you are an MLConnect customer and power has returned but Internet has not, unplug the router from the power source for a few minutes instead of using the reset button. If this does not restore service, submit a ticket online at www.mlconnect.com using the Support Portal tab. Or, call your local MLEC office; choose OPTION 3, then OPTION 2. Once power lines are back in service, broadband crews will begin repairing fiber.