Power has been restored to most affected meters within the PCEPA service territory following a severe ice storm. As of 10 p.m. Wednesday, 124 meters remained offline, primarily due to fallen tree limbs causing damage during the storm, according to PCEPA officials.
Crews continue to work long hours in the final phase of restoration. Each damaged service must be replaced, and in many cases, customers need to hire electricians to repair their electrical entrances before PCEPA can reconnect power. After repairs, crews return to restore service. Once all meters that can be energized are back online, crews will begin weeks of maintenance work, including replacing broken poles, trimming limbs, and resagging wires, the utility said.
Service crews are actively moving throughout the territory, reconnecting service wires at individual residences. The Baldwyn crew is focused on restoring power in the Booneville area. An outage map shows damaged meters marked with blue squares, indicating whether they await electrician repairs or reconnection by PCEPA. A yellow area within Booneville highlights a concentration of affected meters.
PCEPA also announced that its lobby is now open to the public. The utility advised residents to stay away from downed power lines and assume all lines are energized for safety reasons. Additionally, the utility has enlisted fiber technicians from Tombigbee EPA and 4-County EPA to identify and repair fiber cable breaks. Yesterday, 14 crews worked on installing fiber drops across the service area, making significant progress, according to General Manager Robert Dodson.
For updates and to view the outage map, residents can visit https://utilityservices.orbitmobiles.com/outage/FGomNvG73d.
