Storm Restoration FAQs

OPPD has multiple ways for customers to report outages:

• Call 1-800-554-OPPD (6773)
• Visit OPPD.com and click on Report Outage
• Report at stormandoutage.com
• Download the OPPDConnect app and report from your phone

OPPD social media sites are used for providing updates and education. These sites are not monitored by restoration crews and do not integrate with our outage system.

It’s important that all customers report outages to assist us in determining the breadth of the outage. If your home is still without power, it’s important to let OPPD know, as the service line feeding your individual home could be damaged.  

For these reports, call 1-800-554-6773. The options you choose or share with the agent will shape the code we use for the report. We use that information to prioritize accordingly.

Our crews are always working as quickly and safely as possible to repair and restore services. Crews need to assess damage and they work to restore large concentrations of outages first. However, when crews arrive they are sometimes faced with situations that require more time and/or equipment needs. Until damage is assessed, it’s hard to provide an estimated time of restoration. 

The best source of information is stormandoutage.com. Links to this site, can also be found on OPPD’s home page during major outages. Updates and education can also be found by following OPPD on Facebook, OPPDCares on Twitter, OPPDstorm on Twitter and NextDoor App.

If your power goes out again, it’s important for you to report it again. If customers don’t report their outages, we won’t know about them. You can do so by contacting us online, via our OPPDConnect app or by calling 1-800-554-6773.

We prioritize repairs based on what will bring the greatest number of customers back on at once, not by location or neighborhood. So, the quickest repairs that restore power the most customers are tackled first, on down to lengthier repairs that restore fewer amounts of customers. Once large pockets of customers are restored, we address isolated cases (i.e. power disconnected from an individual home). The most complex repairs take a lot of time and may only restore power to a handful of customers. Those are the toughest. As always, safety is paramount and we also do our best to prioritize efficiency.

When a major outage occurs, OPPD crews kick into high gear to restore your power. Safety is our number one priority and is the reason for our methodical approach to restoration. Most of the time, several of these steps can be happening simultaneously.

It's possible that you and your neighbor are on different electrical circuits, service lines or transformers. One side of a neighborhood may be on a different feeder or have a fault that prevents power from reaching some homes. It's also possible that the service line feeding your home is damaged. Individual repairs come after all distribution and tap lines are restored.

If there is damage to the meter socket, riser conduits or weatherhead attached to your house, you’ll need to contact a licensed and bonded electrician. Information on the point of demarcation and what is the homeowner’s responsibility versus OPPD responsibility can be found at oppd.com/HomeownerResponsibility.

Outages could be a result of damage to OPPD infrastructure providing power to your home (i.e. transformer, distribution lines, substation, etc.)

OPPD continues to study and replace overhead lines with underground lines where it makes sense to do so – both from a financial and practicality standpoint. Overhead power lines are often found in older, more established neighborhoods with mature vegetation, landscaping, sheds, pools, patios and other obstacles that would have to be disrupted if we were to bury lines. Such work can not only disrupt the root systems of old, established trees but cause a major disruption of property.

Other issues are how much of the line to bury in a neighborhood and where the cost burden lies. The homeowner is typically responsible for the cost where the overhead line attaches to the house and feeds into the meter. Converting from overhead service requires significant changes to this portion of the service connection.

Even if lines are buried in a neighborhood, there could still be overhead portions of the line along main roads that are exposed to the elements and subject to weather-related outages. OPPD carefully considers both overhead and underground construction when installing new equipment or replacing existing equipment. Many factors impact the cost construction and operation of OPPD’s facilities. The utility evaluates each project on a case-by-case basis to determine the best overall solution.

Outages could be a result of damage to OPPD infrastructure providing power to your home (i.e. transformer, distribution lines, substation, etc.)

It really depends. If our crews can access the affected area with a truck, it might take 2-4 hours depending on the type of lines the pole was holding (single phase vs. 3-phase distribution). It also depends on whether the line is energized or de-energized. An energized line requires careful coordination with OPPD’s dispatch center and may take longer.

If our crews can’t access the damaged pole with a truck, they likely need to use a special machine to carry the replacement in and replace it. That could take 4-6 hours, and again, it depends on whether the line is energized.

After a storm, line crews are dispatched to a damage area, where they evaluate the outage’s exact cause and what needs to be done. If they determine that a pole needs to be replaced, a truck runs to the nearest OPPD service center to pick up the pole, crossarm, transformer and any other necessary parts. During major outages, this process is often streamlined with our damage assessment team that ventures out ahead of line crews so they know what’s needed before they arrive.

Once a new pole is installed, the crew must then verify that power is back on for all customers on that line. They also coordinate with OPPD’s dispatch center.

If multiple poles are down, multiple line crews are assigned to an area to coordinate the safe and efficient replacement of each one. Underground construction crews help remove broken poles with skid loaders. Operators help deliver the poles to help keep the restoration running as smoothly as possible.

If there is damage to your meter socket, riser conduits or weatherhead attached to the house, you’ll need to contact a licensed and bonded electrician. Information on the point of demarcation and what is the homeowner’s responsibility versus OPPD responsibility can be found here. 

Your Energy Charge is based on the amount of energy used during the billing period, therefore you aren’t being charged for power usage during an outage.

Your bill will reflect the Service Charge, which is the same amount every month. This charge is billed to all customers and covers OPPD's fixed costs for infrastructure and maintenance of systems. 

Though OPPD does not reimburse for food loss, your renter's or homeowner's insurance may cover the loss.

It is important to have alternate plans for refrigerating medicines or using power-dependent medical devices. It may be necessary to contact a friend or family member living in the area with power to keep your equipment operating, or alternatively, go to a nearby fire station or medical facility with backup generators. In a medical emergency, please call 911.

Food/Clothing Assistance

NE211

• To find food pantries and clothing closets in your area, please call 211.

SNAP Benefits

• Replacement SNAP Request/Outage Verification requests: OPPD is actively working with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to ensure customers impacted by the storms will have timely access to Replacement SNAP (food stamp) benefits.
• Instead of customers and the State having to verify outage durations once request at a time, OPPD will send a custom outage file to enable a streamline customer experience for SNAP recipients impacted by the outages.
• OPPD customers participating in the SNAP Program that had a power outage lasting more than four hours for refrigerated food or twenty-four hours for frozen food are eligible for replacement SNAP benefits.
• SNAP recipients do not receive replacement SNAP benefits automatically, the household must initiate a request with DHHS.
• If you have any questions about SNAP replacement eligibility or want to make a request, please contact AccessNebraska (Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services) at 402-595-1258 or 1-800-383-4278.
  
  

South Omaha Food Pantry: 2021 U St.

• Tuesday 6:30-7:30 p.m.
• Thursday 1:30-4 p.m.
• Saturday 9:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.

West Omaha Crisis Response Center: 15555 Industrial Rd.

• Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
• Saturday 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Para los clientes de habla hispana que intentan navegar por la asistencia y encontrar acceso a recursos: Latino Center of the Midlands: 402-733-2720

In most cases, OPPD crews will untangle lines from fallen trees, but they will not remove the trees. If a fallen tree has branches creating an obstruction in that air-space corridor, the homeowner should have those branches removed.

This is a national scam. Utilities often see a spike in scam calls after severe weather or other power-related events, when customers may feel the most vulnerable.

OPPD warns these callers do not represent the utility. The utility never cold calls customers demanding payment. If you receive such a call, hang up, and call OPPD directly at 402-536-4131. Outside of Omaha, customers can call 1-877-536-4131, toll-free. Also, never give personal or financial information during an unsolicited call, via email or text.

Mutual aid is an agreement through which utilities offer their restoration services after a major storm event that causes widespread outages. When we see that outage numbers are high and the damage is more severe than that caused by most storms, it becomes apparent that outside help will be needed to restore power to our customers in a safe, timely manner – or as timely as possible. That’s when we put out a request to mutual aid networks for help. We put a call out to the closest utilities first and expand that call to those farther and farther away as may be needed. Utilities that have willing and available staff and equipment let us know, and we go from there. OPPD has been on both sides of the aisle.

As mutual aid assistance makes its way here, we set up a staging area for their vehicles and equipment and we enlist the help of “bird dogs,” who are former lineman or other employees who understand how the OPPD electric system works (pole, wire and other equipment setups can vary across utilities). OPPD often enlists the help of retired linemen or crew supervisors for this job. They work with mutual aid crews for both safety and operational reasons.