What You Need to Know
- SWEPCO has mobilized nearly 900 people to aid in the effort, including lineworkers and tree trimming personnel.
- Extensive flooding can make it more difficult to safely make repairs and could slow restoration time.
- SWEPCO crews will not stop until the last customer who can receive power is restored.
- All customers can check or report outage status, manage their account and more by downloading SWEPCO’s mobile app.
4 p.m. Thursday, April 11, 2024 – More than 25,000 Ark-La-Tex residents have had their power restored following back-to-back storms on the heels of the Great American Eclipse. SWEPCO mobilized a workforce of nearly 900 people to aid in restoration efforts and redeployed resources to areas in need as work was completed elsewhere.
Please be assured crews are working to get every customer who can receive power back on.
The multi-day restoration effort has required crews to leverage resources on the ground, in the air, and on boats to safely access remote and often hard to reach areas to make repairs. In Kilgore, Texas, crews utilized a boat to access a downed power line in the Sabine River.
Work continued into the wee hours of the morning on several repair projects. Well past the storms, several trees, located outside right of ways and loosened by the significant rainfall, have continued to fall, and create new outages such as one incident late Wednesday evening that temporarily disrupted service to customers in the Mount Vernon, Texas area. Across state lines, as restoration work was completed, crews in Arkansas and Texas moved south to assist efforts in central Louisiana. In Natchitoches, unexpected challenges extended beyond navigating the swampy terrain. Workers had to keep an eye out for alligators, snakes, ticks and other wildlife.
Reports show approximately 10,500 Ark-La-Tex customers remain without power and work continues. Our crews are committed to getting all remaining customers who can receive power back on.
SWEPCO designs its system to be resilient enough to withstand significant wind damage; however, there are many variables at play during severe storms. Significant rains and flooding, along with the wind, can loosen soil and increase the likelihood of trees falling into lines, even if those trees are outside the right of way.
Extensive flooding and hard-to-reach, sometimes treacherous terrain, requires crews and contractors to use specialized track equipment to access the areas. Flooding creates a unique and dangerous restoration environment. Flooding can make it more difficult to safely make repairs and can result in longer than usual power restoration times.
Crew Support
Additional crews from SWEPCO’s Fayetteville district and SWEPCO’s sister operating companies, AEP Texas, and Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO), are assisting with our efforts to restore service to our communities as safely and quickly as possible.
By The Numbers
At the peak of the storm’s impact, approximately 35,000 customers were without power. As of 4 p.m. Thursday, more than 25,000 customers have had their power restored.
SWEPCO has provided estimated restoration times for areas impacted by the storm. However, service could be restored sooner.
Customers who signed up for email or text alerts could receive direct updates on the estimated restoration time at their home or business as crews continue working to restore power. To sign up to receive your personalized restoration update, visit swepco.com/alerts.
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