SSVEC urges residents to prepare for monsoon storms: stay away from downed lines, use outage map

Nathan Hodges, Senior Vice President of Operations at Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative, urged members to prepare for monsoon season and outlined specific safety steps for downed lines, outages and equipment protection.

“Monsoon season can bring lightning, strong winds, heavy rain, blowing dust, flash floods, and even power outages,” Hodges said, explaining that lightning and high winds are frequent causes of outages. He recommended that residents keep flashlights with fresh batteries, maintain charged phones and have water and nonperishable food on hand.

On downed power lines, Hodges was explicit: “Please stay away from it. Never assume a downed power line is safe. Call 911 and your local SSVEC office.” He provided SSVEC’s after‑hours number for outages: 1‑800‑422‑3275 and encouraged members to check the cooperative’s outage map and website for restoration updates.

Hodges described the utility’s restoration priorities: crews assess damage once conditions are safe, identify the cause, and begin repairs—some outages are quick fixes while widespread storm damage may take longer to restore. He urged patience and asked residents not to approach line crews working in the field so crews can focus on safety and repairs.

Hodges also addressed practical consumer questions: a refrigerator can typically keep food cold up to about four hours if left unopened and a full freezer can keep food frozen up to about 48 hours during an outage. He warned that portable generators must be operated outdoors and in well‑ventilated areas to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning, and recommended surge protection to protect electronics from lightning‑caused surges.

Hodges repeated that SSVEC will send text alerts when an outage is detected and urged members to keep their contact information current so they receive updates via text and the online outage map.