• If your digital clocks are flashing 12:00 or if your lights blink or go out for a few moments, a momentary outage has occurred.
• Momentary outages are often caused by some type of interference on power lines, such as an animal or tree branch coming in contact with the line.
• We place automatic devices on our power lines to protect them in somewhat the same way circuit breakers protect your home's wiring. The devices quickly isolate the problem and perform a function similar to resetting a circuit breaker in your home-safely restoring power to the line within moments.
• While momentary interruptions are inconvenient, in the majority of cases, these automatic devices prevent longer outages.

Sustained Outages

• Sustained outages are planned or accidental total losses of power in a localized area of the community. These types of outages usually last more than five minutes.
• A sustained outage may be caused by storms, accidents or equipment damage.
• Sometimes it's necessary for us to intentionally interrupt service in order to safely perform equipment repairs and maintenance. If possible, we notify customers in advance of a planned interruption.
• If you use a generator during a sustained outage, please read our tips on Safely Operating Portable Generators.