What Causes Power Outages?

There are many different reasons why an outage may occur, but the majority of non-company power interferences come from fallen trees and branches during storms. Having a well-maintained right-of-way decreases these types of outages. Farmers RECC has an ongoing plan that keeps your power lines free of limbs and tall growing brush. Please help Farmers by allowing necessary tree trimming on your property. If you are in the planting mood, try to plant new trees well away from power lines (at least 30 feet) to avoid problems in the future.

Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done to decrease the number of outages caused by nature, vehicle/equipment accidents or fires. Customers can help with what we call “customer problem” outages. These are outages on the consumer side of the meter, meaning that a check of the circuit breakers or fuses most likely will fix the problem. An outage summary is featured below.

Lightning: Caused by thunderstorms

Wind: Caused by storms

Snow and Ice: Caused by winter storms

Trees Inside Right-of-Way: Trees planted too close to power lines

Squirrels: Caused by animals on the line

Vehicles: Running into poles: accidents

Fires: Home/Business or brush burning

Consumer Problems: Tripped breakers

Unknown: Some outages are caused by unknown reasons