7 p.m., March 22, 2025
This evening, we have more than 1,000 OPPD workers and partners scattered throughout our service territory to restore power. The number of customers without electricity is
down to 8,605,
and 92% of customers who lost power during the blizzard have regained service. But we know we aren’t done. We’re working as quickly and safely as possible, with as many resources as we can muster, to help every last customer.
Another way we’re restoring power is through switching. Sometimes, operators in our dispatch center can creatively reroute power from neighboring circuits to feed electricity to customers who have lost service. This isn’t always possible, of course, but we do it whenever we can as a temporary fix until field workers are able to make permanent repairs.
Today we also received 450 utility poles that we’re installing now. Some of those came from Metropolitan Community College, which runs a top-notch Utility Line Technician program. Many of our current field workers are employees, and some instructors are OPPD alumni. Several hundred more poles are scheduled to arrive tomorrow. We know we'll have replaced at least 1,200 poles by the time the outage ends.
Thank you again for your patience. To those who are still out, we have not forgotten you and we're doing everything we can to restore your power. If you have any questions at all about your outage or you need to report that your power is out, please contact us
online, via our
OPPDConnect app or by calling
1-800-554-OPPD (6773).
4:30 p.m., March 22, 2025
As restoration work continues this afternoon, we wanted to give a HUGE shoutout to Metropolitan Community College.
Metro, if you didn't know, offers a terrific Utility Line Technician Program. Many of our line technicians, street lighters, managers and other employees are graduates. When school officials heard that we needed utility poles, they very generously offered us 100 of theirs that perfectly meet our needs. Many of those poles are at our Elkhorn Service Center now and are going out promptly for our workers to install. This is a tremendous help and will absolutely help with the restoration work. Thank you again to Metropolitan Community College!
We've now restored power to about
91% of customers affected by Wednesday's blizzard, and we certainly aren't done. Our field crews and mutual aid partners are working very hard to help the remaining
9,349 customers who are still in an outage. We haven't forgotten you. If you have any questions at all about your outage or you need to report that your power is out, please contact us
online, via our
OPPDConnect app or by calling
1-800-554-OPPD (6773).
A few other notes this afternoon:
-- If you're driving and happen upon any restoration work,
please give our workers and mutual aid partners plenty of space and respect road blockades. Our workers have reported that some motorists are driving around road barriers and into active work areas. This is unsafe for both motorists and our workers. We understand that you might be frustrated, but please give our employees the space they need to safely do their jobs without distractions. They're there to help, and a rogue vehicle in their work area when they don't expect it creates real risks.
--
Some customers have asked why they still don't have power when their neighbors do. There are several possible reasons. You and your neighbor may be on different circuits, service lines, or transformers. One side of a neighborhood may be on a different feeder line, or have a fault that prevents power from reaching certain homes. Or, the service line that feeds your home could be damaged. If components attached to your house are damaged, you may need to contact an electrician. A detailed breakdown of OPPD and homeowner responsibilities is available at
oppd.com/HomeownerResponsibility.
--
As mentioned earlier, the final stretches of restoration work can seem slow-going. Some repairs are complex and time-consuming may only help a few hundred people, but
our work does not end until every last customer is back up and running. We and our mutual aid partners are out in full force, doing everything we safely can to finish the job. Thank you again for you patience.
10:45 a.m., March 22, 2025
We’re making more progress with the restoration this morning and want to emphasize again that we won’t stop until all customers have their power back.
As of 9 a.m., we had restored
88% of the 106,000 customers who lost power at the peak of Wednesday’s blizzard. We still have
12,177 customers without electricity, and we’re working as quickly and safely as we can to get to everyone.
A few updates and reminders:
-- More poles are on the way! Our suppliers are racing to ship us more to replace those that were irreparably damaged during the blizzard. Just this morning, we received more from Kansas City, and we expect even more shipments later today. This is crucial because it allows us to keep working as efficiently as possible and without unnecessary delays. By the time this outage is over, we believe that we’ll need to replace at least 1,200 poles and a lot of cross-arms.
-- During restorations, there are times when crews need to wait to ensure that lines will safely carry electricity and to verify with OPPD dispatchers that a repaired circuit is working properly. This is a normal, necessary part of the process, and it can take time. Please continue to give our field workers plenty of space so they can work uninterrupted, and don’t assume they aren’t working if you see them sitting in their trucks or standing around near a pole. Our field employees and partners take tremendous pride in their work and are fully committed to restoring every last customer.
-- The weather forecast looks good for the next few days, which is promising. In the hours and days after the blizzard, workers encountered heavy snow, icy roads and then muddy conditions. Thick, heavy ice accumulated on the lines and contributed to a lot of the damage, then created new hazards as it melted and fell off. Of course, working outside for long stretches of time can still take a toll, especially in the windier and more exposed rural areas. And we still must work through a huge amount of damage.
-- Before long, we’ll be entering a phase of the restoration where the work becomes much more localized. Repairing specific areas will restore a smaller number of customers. That might make progress appear slower, but we want to stress that our workers, contractors and mutual aid partners are working just as hard to restore everyone. Our aim is to restore as many customers as possible, as quickly and efficiently as possible. In some cases, neighbors who live across the street from one another may be on different circuits and therefore may be restored at different times.
-- If you have any questions about your outage, please contact us
online, via our
OPPDConnect app or by calling
1-800-554-OPPD (6773).
To those who are still out, thank you again for your patience. We want you know we're working as quickly and safely as we can to restore your service.
7 a.m., March 22, 2025
OPPD crews and mutual aid partners are still working diligently to restore power to every customer affected by this week's blizzard.
As of
7 a.m. Saturday, we've restored power to all but
13,525 customers, down from a peak of
106,000. Work will continue all through the weekend and beyond as needed to bring power back to everyone.
We'll have more updates later today.
For previous information about this event, click
here.
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