Calm before a storm
WFEC prepares for possible hurricane-season power outages
With the arrival of hurricane season this month, you might be stocking up on supplies to get ready for severe weather. But West Florida Electric Cooperative is making preparations of another kind. We’re working to respond to storm-related power outages as efficiently as possible.
If you experience an isolated outage -- that is, you’ve lost power but few, if any, of your neighbors have -- you’ll normally speak with a live dispatcher when you call WFEC to report the problem. However, when severe weather causes significant damage to WFEC’s distribution system, interrupting electric service for tens, hundreds or even thousands of WFEC customers, the Co-op’s service center personnel utilize a PORCHE automated outage reporting system. The PORCHE enables them to accurately pinpoint outage locations and dispatch crews to specific problem sites, equipped for repairing a particular problem, and can simultaneously answer a heavy influx of calls far more efficiently than a live operator can.
If you’ve provided WFEC with up-to-date information for your account, the PORCHE automatically identifies you when you call during an extensive outage. Then the system can provide the dispatcher with your location, as well as information about the feeder, substation, circuit and other devices involved in providing your service. With the PORCHE receiving and organizing multiple outage reports as they are called in, the dispatcher can concentrate on identifying the outage cause and dispatching crews with maximum efficiency.
The easy-to-use PORCHE will guide you through the outage reporting process, allowing you to enter information using your touch-tone phone or by speaking answers to the system prompts.
Before calling to report an outage, be ready to provide the phone number and account number for the location where the outage has occurred. If you have more than one account number, be sure to furnish the correct one for the outage location. Also be prepared to describe any unusual sounds or visible signs of damage that might indicate the outage cause.
After reporting an outage, allow sufficient time for repairs before calling WFEC to report the outage again. The crews are working to restore your electric service as quickly as possible, but the repairs might take time.
During extensive outages, such as those that follow a hurricane, WFEC’s linemen make repairs in a sequence that will restore service to the greatest number of customers in the least time possible – the only practical way. Working out from the substations, they first concentrate on getting the three-phase feeders, or main lines, leading from the substations back on. So, the closer you are to a substation, the sooner your electric service will be restored.
Starting with the first set of breakers, the crews clear an entire section of line, then energize that section before moving on to the next set of breakers, gradually working out to the single-phase taps. WFEC’s PORCHE system facilitates this process by helping to pinpoint damaged equipment, such as a faulty breaker.
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