OPPD provides best estimates as to when customers will have their power back following Wednesday’s historic storm

Omaha Public Power District has new estimates of how long it will take to restore power to our customers after Wednesday evening’s hurricane-force winds rocked our service territory.  The storm left 218,332 customers – more than half of our total customers – in the dark. It is the largest outage event in OPPD’s history.

We have much more work ahead of us with more than 47,300 customers still without power as of late Saturday afternoon. This stretch of repairs is the most complex and time-consuming, but we are working as quickly as we safely can to bring power back to those still impacted.

We know it’s incredibly difficult to be without power for this long and that our customers need to make plans. That’s especially true in this summer heat. That’s why we began sending recorded messages to our customers today with our best estimates of when we hope to have their power back. These estimates are based on current conditions and assessments from our teams in the field and could change if we encounter unforeseen complications. These messages are going out in both English and Spanish, depending on the language printed on customer bills.

Our estimated restoration times (ETRs) are NOT based on geography. Some customers in different parts of our service territory will have similar restoration times, while ETRs may differ for others who are relatively close together. This is in line with our process of restoring as many people as we can, as quickly as possible and then working down to individual neighborhoods, homes and businesses. With that said, here’s how our restoration timeline is looking right now. Of the customers who were still without power this morning:

• Approximately 32,000 customers should expect to be restored by the end of Sunday, barring unforeseen issues. A large portion of that group could potentially be back up yet today.
• Approximately 12,600 should expect restoration by the end of Monday, barring unforeseen issues.
• Approximately 5,800 should expect restoration by the end of Wednesday, barring unforeseen issues.

As our OPPD, mutual aid, and tree crews complete restoration efforts and as conditions change, so may ETRs. We will send updated voicemail communications to customers if their repair timeline shifts. We will continue to work as safely and quickly as we can during this most complex, and often slower, phase of restoration. If customers who are still without power do not receive a voicemail, please take a moment to ensure we have your most up-to-date contact information at Solutions.OPPD.com/Keep-Current.

Stay safe

We want to continue to stress safety. If you see a downed power line, assume it is live and stay far back. If the downed line is on private property, please report it to OPPD online or at 1-800-554-OPPD (6773) or via the OPPDconnect app. In addition, we ask that you refrain from approaching crews for any reason. We understand you may have questions or may even want to share some kind words. However, the work our crews are doing is extremely dangerous and potentially life-threatening. They need to maintain complete focus for their safety and the safety of the public. This will also help ensure efficiency with their restoration work.

Continue to report outages

Sometimes, major storms can cause damage that doesn’t lead to an outage right away. A branch that was hanging loosely after a storm might fall suddenly onto a line. Perhaps a piece of equipment gets damaged by wind but doesn't fail right away. Or maybe you’re experiencing an outage not related to the storm. Please be sure and report it to us so that we are aware and can respond. You can do so on OPPD.com or via the OPPDconnect app or by calling 1-800-554-OPPD (6773).

For the latest information on power outages and related topics, please visit www.StormAndOutage.com.