Outages

First, check your home's breaker panel and any outdoor disconnects to make sure the outage is not due to a tripped breaker in your fuse box panel.

Next, call or check to see if several of your neighbors' power is off. This will help you determine if the problem exists inside your home or is a result of a power outage on our lines.

If you determine the problem is outside your home, report it by calling your local office (Bruce Office: 662-983-2727, Pontotoc Office: 662-489-3211 or Pontotoc after hours call 662-489-6711). Please do not assume that your neighbor has called. The only way we know that your location is experiencing a power outage is by you calling to report it. Rest assured that our outage recovery team will work as quickly as possible to restore electrical service to your facility. Our phone operators take your trouble calls, and dispatch service personnel 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Call any time you have a power outage. We are here to serve you. Once you report the outage, try not to call us again unless you have an emergency. Be assured that our crews are doing everything possible to restore your power as soon as possible. Unnecessary calls prevent those who have not reported their outage from getting through or generate multiple outage tickets for the same location.

If you see a downed power line it is important to stay away from it at all times and contact us immediately. Please do not try to remove anything that might be tangled in power lines, even if you think the line is dead.

If you or another family member depends on life support, and the loss of electricity affects these life support systems, please alert us prior to an outage occurring. We will then indicate this situation with your address in our system. Caregivers of in-home critical care patients should always have an evacuation plan or a plan for how to handle extended outages in the event of a natural disaster or severe storm.

If your power is out you may see a utility vehicle drive by your house without stopping. There are several reasons why this might be the case. The crew may be en route to a location where immediate attention is required, such as a live line is down, they may need to inspect equipment along your main line, or they may need to return to base for further supplies. Crews repair damage to parts of the system that bring power to the most number of customers first before handling problems at individual homes. Please know that we are making every effort to restore power to you as quickly as possible.

During an outage we will have crews working on lines in your area. Many of these lines are along main roads and highways. For your safety and the safety of our crews, please drive slowly and be aware of our crew vehicles.

If you have a portable generator, it should not be connected to any of the utility power lines, or it should be equipped with a properly installed double-throw switch installed by a licensed electrician. Generators that are not isolated or installed properly can feed back in to our lines and may cause serious injury to anyone coming in contact with those wires.

If you plan to use a portable generator, here are some important safety precautions:

• Read all instructions carefully and follow the manufacturer's recommendations.
• First, never run your generator in doors or in your garage. Generators should only be run in a well-ventilated area. Gasoline-powered generators produce carbon monoxide and the fumes can be deadly if there is not adequate ventilation.
• Second, plug appliances directly into the generator using heavy duty, properly grounded extension cords.
• Make sure that extension cords are not frayed or worn.
• Limit the electrical load placed on the generator to no more than the recommended wattage.
• Do not connect your power generator directly to your home's main fuse box or circuit panel.
• Use the generator only when necessary.
• Turn the generator off at night while you sleep and when you are away from home.

For the safety of anyone who may be in the proximity of your home, do not attempt to connect your generator to your home wiring.

If you have any doubts about how to properly use a portable electric generator, contact the manufacturer or a licensed electrician for assistance.

While the power is out, no electricity is being consumed, so your meter does not register any consumption for billing. For reasons that can be technical, physical, or acts of God, uninterrupted electrical service cannot be guaranteed to your home or business. Events within and outside our control will prevent us from always having power at your location.