Thanks to the hard work and dedication of employees from across company operations, and with help from electric crews from throughout the Midwest, We Energies restored power to 240,000 customers who lost service as a result of severe storms Aug. 10.
Damaging winds of 60 to 80 miles per hour whipped across Wisconsin, toppling trees and branches into electric equipment. We Energies immediately launched the largest storm restoration effort in company history, with more than a thousand people working around the clock.
Field crews found widespread damage and thousands of hazards and outages — including downed trees that blocked roads, uprooted natural gas and electric lines, and damaged electric equipment. We Energies replaced hundreds of poles and transformers and strung more than 5 miles of new power cables during restoration efforts.
Despite the damage, crews restored power to 200,000 customers within 48 hours, and 98% of customers had their power back on within 72 hours.
“We had an army of men and women from across Wisconsin and the Midwest working around the clock to get our customers restored as quickly and safely as possible,” said Tom Metcalfe, president — We Energies. “We appreciate our customer’s patience and support during this historic effort — from the kind words and cold drinks shared with our field crews, to the messages of thanks that I heard as I visited neighborhoods hit hard by severe weather.”
We Energies has one of the most reliable energy grids in the nation, but severe weather and other events sometimes cause power outages that require many hours and even days to address. Here are some tips to help be prepared and know what to do should a power outage occur.