Outage Restoration

Outage Restoration Procedures

If your power is off:

  1. Check your home’s breaker panel (and any outdoor disconnects) to make sure the outage is not due to a tripped breaker.
  2. Call your neighbors to see if their power is off. This will help you determine whether the problem exists within your home or on our lines.
  3. If you determine the problem is outside your home, call RushShelby Energy (RSE). Please have the following information available when you call: account name, street address, home phone, and cause of power outage (if you know it).
  4. Call any time your power is off; do not assume that others have reported the outage.
  5. Once you make the report, please avoid calling again unless an emergency arises. Crews will be out as soon as possible and extra calls prevent those who have not yet reported their outage from getting through.

Note: If you call when there are widespread outages, our automated outage-reporting system may answer your call. Please listen carefully and follow all directions. Toll-free: (800) 284-3452

Outage Reporting Systems

When a major outage occurs and thousands of calls are coming into our offices at one time, you may experience a busy signal or get a telephone network recording. Although it may seem longer, it takes an average of 75 seconds to gather important information about the cause of the outage, such as a tree on the line or a broken wire. The fastest way to report your outage is through our automated telephone system. Follow the recorded instructions to enter the phone number of the outage location and verify the name on the account. Information you provide through the automated system is entered into our dispatch computers. Outages can also be reported through the SmartHub app or Outage Texting. Crews will be out as soon as possible to restore your power. We also now have an Outage Map available on our website, allowing you to see the number of outages we have at a specific time.

Outage Restoration Process

Your call to report an outage is important. Our goal is to restore service as safely and quickly as possible. When you report the outage, we record your outage and any damage you report. Your information, along with information received from other cooperative members, is entered into our outage management system. A computer program compiles the information and then summarizes the outage pattern. This helps us locate trouble areas quickly and dispatch repair crews efficiently.

Once crews have been dispatched, these are the power restoration steps we follow:

  1. Our first priority is public safety. RSE crews will be sent to remove power lines from roadways first.
  2. After that, substation power is restored if necessary. This will often restore power to many members.
  3. Next, the major distribution circuits, typically 3-phase lines, are repaired. If energy cannot be distributed over these lines, your home cannot receive power.
  4. Tap lines, usually single-phase lines, are the lines that carry power to groups of homes from the distribution circuits.
  5. Finally, transformers and individual service lines are repaired.

Please note: When an outage is reported, our team of professional linemen respond quickly. It is often difficult to predict the length of an outage due to the severity of the problem. Please be patient and understand that we are doing everything we can to restore power quickly and safely.