High wind, extra We Energies crews ready after historic August outage
MILWAUKEE - We Energies brought in extra crews amid the high wind warning in place for southeast Wisconsin from 9 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 15 until 9 a.m. Thursday.
While We energies noted this storm feels out of place for the season, they said Wednesday they are ready for it when it hits. If there are outages, crews will focus on hospitals and police and fire stations first before moving on to feeders and neighborhoods with the most customers without power.
With 60 mph wind gusts expected to sweep our area, We Energies called in extra crews ahead of what's expected to feel like a tropical storm.
"The issue with this storm is it’s so broad that we can’t just plan to move a lot of resources around to one part of the state," said Brendan Conway, We Energies. "We have to be able to respond to any part of the state."
The National Weather Services’ high wind warning extends through 11 counties and expires Thursday morning.
"We’ve made plans in the overnight hours to have people in and available," said Conway.
We Energies' August power outage restoration
This storm could echo the strong storms felt in August. Thunderstorms with persistent gusts of 60 miles an hour for nearly a half-hour resulted in 240,000 We Energies' customers left in the dark. It was the largest and worst outage in the company’s history.
"What really impacted us in August, which hopefully doesn’t happen as much here, hundreds and hundreds of trees that were toppled," said Conway. "It’s unlikely this storm will cause that type of damage."
We Energies' August power outage restoration
After the August storm, 95% percent of customers were restored in two days. Wednesday’s storm has the potential to blow holiday decorations from winter wonderlands into winter whirlwinds.
"Everyone is on standby," said Conway. "We can have hundreds of people responding as quickly as possible. If there are big outages, and we said this in August, we have to ask for patience. You can throw everything at it, but things take some time."
Monitor the outages throughout Wisconsin with the We Energies Outage Map.
Steps We Energies' customers can take
Report outages
Customers can help We Energies get a jump on power restoration by reporting outages. Customers have several ways to report outages.
- Free We Energies mobile app
- Online at we-energies.com/OutageManagement
- Call 800-662-4797 and follow the automated prompts
For the fastest service, customers should have their account number ready or provide the phone number associated with their account.
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Prepare for the storm
Customers should make sure any loose items in their yard or deck are put away or securely tied down. Customers are also encouraged to build an emergency kit that includes blankets, batteries, a flashlight and a battery-powered phone charger. More tips are available at our website: we-energies.com/services/outages-safety
Downed lines
If customers come across a downed line, they should always assume it is energized. Customers should stay at least 25 feet away from the line and contact We Energies or local law enforcement as soon as possible.
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