OPPD making repairs in storm-devastated neighborhoods, requests the public’s help by keeping a distance from critical work taking place

Omaha Public Power District is working hard in some tough conditions to restore power to those who lost it during yesterday’s devastating storms. Our hearts go out to all those displaced or otherwise impacted.

Please know that our crews are working as quickly and safely as possible to restore power. As of 2 p.m. today, we have restored power to 62% of customers impacted. At that time, more than 4,100 customers remained without power, down from peak of about 10,200 outages. The four regions hit hardest were the Elkhorn, Bennington, and Blair areas, as well as around Eppley Airfield.

We understand the interest surrounding storm damage of this magnitude. However, we ask the public to please try and stay back and out of the way for OPPD and other first responders who are completing dangerous and crucial work. This is for their safety as well as for the safety of the public.

Our tree crews, troubleshooters, repair crews, and downed wire crews worked through the overnight hours in some tough conditions with debris-blocked roadways and other hazards creating challenges. They are facing a number of downed power lines and broken poles, among other obstacles. Unfortunately, the kinds of complex repairs remaining take some time, so the restoration efforts will be slow progressing compared to the first round of restorations.

We are grateful for the mutual support of our neighboring public power agencies. Nebraska Public Power District is sending a 22-man team to Omaha to help us. This includes two supervisors and 20 technicians, who left this morning. The line technicians responding are from NPPD operations in Aurora, Kearney, O'Neill, Plattsmouth, South Sioux City and York.

As more storms threaten our area later today, we want to stress again that our top priority is the safety of the public and our workers. If you come across a downed power line, always assume it’s live and extremely dangerous. Report it to us at 1-800-554-OPPD (6773) or call 911, so that we can secure the area.

Also, please be sure to let us know if you have not yet reported a power outage or if you experience one in subsequent storms. You can do so by calling the above number, reporting online, or via our OPPDConnect app. Follow our latest restoration and work updates at StormAndOutage.com.