After a Major Storm

Restoring power after a major storm is a big job that involves much more than simply throwing a switch or removing a tree from a line. Our top priority is to restore power safely to the greatest number of members in the shortest time possible. The major cause of outages is damage caused by fallen trees. That's why we have an ongoing right-of-way maintenance program and count on your support when tree trimming crews are in the area.

Step 1. Transmission towers and lines supply power to one or more transmission substations. These lines seldom fail, but they can be damaged by a hurricane or tornado. Tens of thousands of people could be served by one high-voltage transmission line, so these lines get attention first. The transmission lines serving most TEMC households are owned by either Carolina Power & Light (CP&L) or North Carolina Power.

Step 2. TEMC has 15 distribution substations, each serving hundreds or thousands of customers. When a major outage occurs, these distribution substations are checked first by local personnel. A problem here could be caused by failure in the transmission system supplying the substation. If the problem can be corrected at the substation level, power may be restored to a large number of people.

Step 3. Main distribution supply lines are checked next if the problem cannot be isolated at the substation. These supply lines carry electricity away from the substation to a group of consumers, such as an individual community or housing development. When power is restored at this stage, all consumers served by this supply line could see the lights come on, as long as there is no problem farther down the line.

Step 4. The final supply lines, called tap lines, carry power to the utility poles or underground transformers outside houses or other buildings. Line crews fix the remaining outages based on restoring service to the greatest number of members.

Step 5. Sometimes, damage will occur on the service line between your house and the transformer on the nearby pole. This can explain why you have no power when your neighbor does. Tideland needs to know you have an outage here, so a service crew can repair it.

Step 6. Members (not the co-op) are responsible for damage to the service installation on the building. Call a licensed electrician to make repairs then call the cooperative so power can be restored.

Major Storm Preparation

As major storm approaches early preparation can ease the hardship of an extended power outage. Print the following checklist to make sure you're ready to "weather the storm."

*For more information about disaster preparedness visit the Federal Emergency Management Agency's website at www.fema.gov/

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