Common Council

MGE Power Restoration Update

June 15, 2022, 5:00 a.m.? 

MGE Responding to Storm-Related Outages? 
Madison Gas and Electric (MGE) continues to restore service to customers impacted by Monday afternoon's storm. Approximately 1,630 customers are still without service as of 5:00 a.m.

Due to the extent of the storm damage, we are still conducting damage assessments and working to develop accurate estimated restoration times for customers who are still without power. MGE has not seen damage this significant for more than 30 years and the number of separate incidents is extremely rare in our territory. Since the start of this event, we have brought in significant numbers of additional crews from other utilities and contractors to assist with this complex restoration event.
 
Crews worked overnight Wednesday and were able to make significant progress, bringing the total of customers restored to more than 23,500--or approximately 95%-- of customers who were impacted.
 
MGE plans to have crews working to restore power and conduct system restoration activities throughout the day, but severe weather in the forecast may impact those plans. Additional storms also could cause new outages.
 
Extensive restoration effort
We continue to target the outages impacting the largest number of customers first, and we continue to add crews from other utilities as they become available, in addition to dispatching all available MGE crews.
 
We are thankful for our crews, mutual assistance crews and operations employees who have safely worked approximately 5,000 hours in the first 36 hours to restore service to our customers as quickly as possible.
 
We encourage customers to check our outage map and outage information page for updates as restoration work continues. We also are thankful to our community for their continued patience in an extraordinary situation. We understand many of our customers are not used to extended power outages with our record of reliability.
 
Why is restoration taking so long?
This is the largest number of individual incidents MGE has experienced at one time. Each incident represents a location with varying complexity to restore service. The biggest challenges continue to be the high volume of downed lines, the large number of separate outage incidents and additional new outages that are the result of weakened trees and branches falling on power lines.
 
Why doesn't MGE have estimated restoration times on its outage map?
Due to the number of separate incidents and the varying circumstances that impact each restoration, MGE is still unable to give accurate individual estimated restoration times and has temporarily suspended its estimated time of restoration feature on its outage map at mge.com/outage. We understand this may cause frustration for our customers and we hope to be able to provide estimated times on our outage map later today. MGE will provide another update on our service restoration efforts later this morning.
 
Learn more about our restoration process below.
 
Downed lines
Public safety is our first priority. We are responding as quickly and safely as possible. We remind everyone to stay clear of damaged areas and never approach a downed power line or anything that comes in contact with it. Always assume a power line is energized and extremely dangerous and stay away. If you see a downed line, please notify MGE immediately by calling (608) 252-7111. Visit our safety page to learn more.
 
Report an outage
Customers who have not yet reported a loss of power should call MGE at (608) 252-7111 to report an outage or any incidents of downed wires.
 
Service Restoration? 
All outage restoration follows a five-step process. In small incidents, these steps are often done by a single crew and can be accomplished very quickly. In major outages, however, several parts of the company become involved. Learn more about our process.
 
Sometimes you may notice an MGE vehicle or employee/crew in your neighborhood for a while without your service being restored. Here are some of the reasons:

· They are doing damage assessment and reporting the situation back to our dispatch center. They may even leave your neighborhood before service is restored.

· They are monitoring a downed line until a crew can come and make the situation safe.

· They are waiting for the electrical system to be switched so they can work on it.

· They are waiting for additional equipment or materials to complete the job.

 
If you have damage to electric lines? 
Check our storm and outage FAQ page. If you have damage to the electric lines coming into your home, this page includes a graphic showing what equipment MGE owns and what equipment you own. Customers with damage to their equipment will need to have an electrician make repairs first, then contact us to have our personnel return to restore service.? 
 
Dane County cooling centers
Dane County has partnered with Madison College and the American Red Cross to open a cooling shelter at 1701 Wright Street. The County also is opening the Dane County Coliseum until 10 p.m. as a cooling center for those who need it.