Electricity powers our everyday lives, so we understand how frustrating it can be when you’re left in the dark.

Power outages are never convenient.

It takes a lot of hands to make sure your lights stay on and even more to get it up and running when an outage occurs. Lorain-Medina Rural Electric Cooperative works hard to restore power to our members when outages occur, but there are necessary steps our linemen must take to ensure power is restored as quickly and safely as possible.

In the case of high winds or major storms, LMRE line crews must first identify which towers, poles, and lines have been damaged. Repairing damage to transmission lines takes top priority during major outage events, as this can affect tens of thousands of members at once. Fortunately, this damage occurs rarely, and usually only in the case of major weather occurrences such as tornadoes or hurricanes.

The next step in power restoration is checking LMRE’s distribution substations, which are fed power by high-voltage transmission lines. These substations serve thousands of members. If the issue is isolated and can be resolved at the substation level, that’s great news! That means thousands of people can have their power restored at once.

When outage issues can’t be isolated at the substation, LMRE crews inspect the supply lines between the substations and the meters they serve. If the supply lines can be repaired, power can be restored to the towns and homes those lines serve, as long as there’s no damage to the tap lines. It’s important to note that, even if the line crew appears to have cleared and repaired the line, the outage may still remain until sections of the line farther away have been approved for restoration.

Tap lines carry power from the transformers located underground or on poles outside of homes and other buildings. LMRE line crews determine which damaged lines to work on first based on which lines will restore power to the greatest number of members.

Many times, the issue is resolved once the tap lines are repaired. But have you ever lost power only to look next door and see light coming from your neighbor’s window? This generally means that the service line between your home and a nearby transformer has been damaged. If this happens, call LMRE right away so we can send a line crew to your home.

As always, we appreciate your patience and cooperation whenever an outage occurs.