Thank you customers, communities, and contractors for your support
[Tuesday, May 17] Five days after severe weather struck the southern part of our service area, we're finalizing power restoration to all remaining customers.
“We have a long list of organizations and people to thank,” said Area Manager Scott Wiese. “From emergency response personnel in the communities we serve to local companies willing to help with a wide variety of restoration tactics, we couldn’t have done this alone. And to our resilient customers: Thank you for your widespread support. Our crews are grateful for every kind word and drive-by cheer you provided as we worked to make repairs.”
In total, the storm caused power interruptions for more than 45% of our communities, and we'll continue permanent repairs to equipment in the days and weeks ahead. Customers who may still be without power should call us at 800-257-4044 if they haven’t yet reported their address.
We continue power restoration
[Monday, May 16] A bright day carries with it the hope of restoration to many customers still affected by Thursday evening’s severe weather.
We're addressing any remaining feeders this morning, then moving to individual customer-level repairs in all communities as needed. These types of local outages will not appear on our online outage map.
“It’s important that you call us as soon as possible if you’re still without power and haven’t yet reported your address,” said Area Manager Scott Wiese. “With more than 140 lineworkers in 30 communities, we’re moving as quickly and safely as we can to make individual repairs and restore power to impacted customers.”
Be sure to stay safe and stay away from any damaged power lines or poles.
We'll provide an update on restoration efforts around 10:00 a.m. Tuesday at otpco.com/outages.
---
[Sunday, May 15, 8:00 p.m.] As the sun sets on another day filled with extensive repairs, our crews express their gratitude for customer support.
“Thank you for your well-wishes! We’re hearing the honking horns and cheers coming from cars passing by our crews and reading notes of thanks online as we’re able to restore power to our neighbors,” said Area Manager Scott Wiese. “Repairs have been challenging in the Industrial Park and Riverview Development area of Morris, but we’re targeting restoration yet tonight pending unforeseen delays. We’ve also made significant strides energizing additional customers in Castlewood, with only about 20% of the community remaining without power. We’re estimating late tomorrow evening for full restoration in Castlewood.”
We'll address any remaining feeders first thing Monday morning, then move to individual customer-level repairs in all communities. These types of local outages will not appear on our online outage map.
Please call or send a direct message via Facebook if you're without power and haven’t yet reported your address. Be sure to stay safe and stay away from any damaged power lines or poles.
We'll provide an update on restoration efforts around 10:00 a.m. Monday at otpco.com/outages.
---
[Sunday, May 15, 10:45 a.m.] The start of a new day brings with it aggressive goals from a diligent team.
We've restored power at community levels to all areas, enabling crews to address hundreds of isolated neighborhood- and customer-level issues. Remaining local outages will not appear on our online outage map.
More than 100 crew members continue work today on isolated repairs in over 40 communities, prioritizing lines that affect the most people.
Please call or send a direct message via Facebook if you're without power and haven’t yet reported your address. Be sure to stay safe and stay away from any damaged power lines or poles.
“Mother Nature had quite an impact. Thank you again for the support of our crews as they work their way through repairs,” said Area Manager Scott Wiese. “We appreciate your ongoing patience and understanding as we work to completely restore power as safely and quickly as we can.”
We'll provide an update on restoration efforts around 8:00 p.m. Sunday at otpco.com/outages.
---
[Saturday, May 14, 4:30 p.m.] Our crews made significant progress throughout the day, restoring power to several areas while continuing to address isolated issues in the region.
Below are communities still without power, as well as current estimated restoration times.
Minnesota
- Louisburg: Targeted restoration this evening.
South Dakota
- Nunda, Oldham, and Wentworth areas: Targeted restoration this evening.
- Castlewood: Targeted restoration late this evening for many customers. Restoration to remaining customers will continue throughout the next few days.
“If you’re still experiencing an outage not listed, and haven’t yet reported it to us, please call or send us a direct message via Facebook,” said Area Manager Scott Wiese. “And if you see damage to power lines or poles, stay safe and stay away. Report damage to us right away.”
We'll provide an update on restoration efforts around 9:30 a.m. Sunday at otpco.com/outages.
---
[Saturday, May 14, 9:30 a.m.] As the sun rose this morning, more than 100 of our crew members were hard at work in area communities to resume power restoration efforts following Thursday evening’s severe weather. We restored power to more than 20,000 customers by last night, with approximately 4,000 still without electricity.
We continue repairs to lines that impact the most people, coordinating human and material resources as efficiently as possible. “Yesterday we were able to bring several areas back on line,” said Area Manager Scott Wiese. “If we’ve restored power to your community, but you’re still without electricity, the issue may be specific to your location. Please call us at 800-257-4044 to be sure we’re aware. We’ll follow up with repairs as soon as we can.”
Below are communities affected as well as current estimated restoration times.
Minnesota
- Louisburg: Targeted restoration this evening.
- Marietta: Targeted restoration this afternoon.
- All other Minnesota communities have been restored with isolated restoration and repair efforts ongoing.
South Dakota
- Astoria: Targeted restoration this afternoon.
- Nunda, Oldham, Rutland, and Wentworth areas: Targeted restoration this evening.
- Castlewood: Targeted restoration late Sunday evening, though with several localized repairs still needed.
- All other South Dakota communities have been restored with isolated restoration and repair efforts ongoing.
We've restored power to all North Dakota customers.
“Our crews in the field and teams in the office have been working diligently to fully restore power to customers,” said Wiese. “Thank you for your kind words, well-wishes, and patience as we work to energize all communities.” We'll provide an update on restoration efforts around 4:30 p.m. Saturday at otpco.com/outages.
If you can see damage to power lines or poles, please stay safe and stay away. Call us to report damage.
We're working to restore power
Severe weather cause of widespread outages
[Friday, May 13, 4:30 p.m.] We continue efforts to restore power to customers in Minnesota and South Dakota following Thursday evening’s severe weather. We've experienced significant damage to equipment, including more than 250 broken poles. Additionally, high winds in part of the area have caused new outages in some communities. As of 4:00 p.m. today, we've restored power to at least 14,000 customers, with more than 10,000 still without electricity.
Additional crews and equipment have been arriving at impacted communities. “The storm’s impact has been far reaching,” said Area Manager Scott Wiese. “We continue our efforts to restore power to as many customers as possible, beginning with repairs to lines that impact the most people. We’ll follow with repairs of individual service levels to homes as needed over the next several days.”
Below are communities affected as well as current estimated restoration times, if known.
Minnesota
- Gentilly, Plummer, Oklee, and Red Lake Falls areas: Crews are working to determine the cause of a new outage. We’ll provide an update as soon as we can.
- Louisburg area: Targeted restoration tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon.
- Chokio, Cyrus, DeGraff, Farwell, Hancock, Hoffman, Holloway, Milan, Minneota, Murdock, Odessa, Pennock, Taunton, and Wheaton: Targeted restoration late this evening.
- All other Minnesota communities have been partially restored with additional restoration efforts ongoing.
North Dakota
- Devils Lake: Targeted restoration by 4:30 p.m. today.
- Cleveland, Fessenden, Jamestown, Medina, and New Rockford areas: Targeted restoration this evening.
South Dakota
- Astoria, Colman, Nunda, Oldham, Rutland, Toronto, and Wentworth areas: Targeted restoration tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon.
- Castlewood: Targeted restoration Monday, May 16.
- Bruce, Bushnell, Clear Lake, Dempster, Erwin, Hetland, Lake Norden, Trent, Ward, and White areas: Targeted restoration early this evening.
- DeSmet, Egan, Elkton, Gary, Hammer, Hayti, Lake Preston, Marietta, Nassau, and Verdi: Targeted restoration later this evening.
- All other South Dakota communities have been partially restored with additional restoration efforts ongoing.
To let crews rest for a safe tomorrow, we'll begin pulling employees from the field around 9:00 p.m. tonight. “We truly appreciate the support of our customers, neighbors, and communities,” said Wiese. “Please stay safe.” We'll provide an update on restoration efforts around 9:30 a.m. Saturday at otpco.com/outages.
---
[Friday, May 13, 4:00 p.m.] We're finalizing information from each of our areas and will have a comprehensive update around 4:30 p.m. Thank you for your ongoing patience!
---
[Friday, May 13, 9:15 a.m.] Thursday evening’s severe weather has resulted in prolonged outages for more than 24,000 of our customers primarily in Minnesota and South Dakota. With significant damage to equipment, including more than 250 broken poles, we anticipate that it may take most of the day before crews are able to complete repairs. Some customers could be without power for three to four days.
Crews continue to assess damage as they work to restore power to customers. “Our hearts are with those that experienced damage to their homes and businesses,” said Area Manager Scott Wiese. “We’ve worked throughout the night to determine the extent of damage, and additional crews and equipment are on their way to assist with repairs.” We expect to provide updates about specific communities around 4 p.m. today.
Visit otpco.com/outages for information on areas affected and what to do during an outage. And, if you can see damage to power lines or poles, please stay safe and stay away. Call us at 800-257-4044 to report damage.
“We appreciate our customers’ patience as we work as safely and quickly as we can to restore power,” said Wiese.
A power pole and line lays over railroad tracks in Morris, Minnesota.