Thursday, May 22, 2:30 p.m.
OPPD has restored power to nearly all of the customers who lost service during Tuesday’s severe storms. Our crews are still working as quickly and safely as possible to help a small number who are still affected.
On Wednesday afternoon, less than 30 customers affected by the storm were still without power. The remaining outages are complex and require some extra work to resolve.
We predict we’ll have everyone’s power restored by Thursday afternoon, barring any unforeseen challenges. We’re contacting those customers directly to update them. Thank you for your patience. We’ll provide more updates as we learn more.
Wednesday, May 22, 7 a.m.
OPPD crews restored power to more customers overnight, and as of this time, 249 customers remain without power. Our work to make repairs, including the replacement of power poles, continues today. The kinds of repairs needed in this home stretch take more time. We know that’s hard for those who have been without power for so long. Please know that our crews are working as quickly as safely possible to bring electrical service back. We will continue to provide updates as we learn more.
Tuesday, May 21, 9 p.m. – As of this time, 341 customers remain without power. Our crews will continue to work through the night to make repairs. We hope to have all customers restored by the end of day tomorrow, barring any unforeseen challenges.
8 p.m. – OPPD crews found several issues related to the power outage around the area of 120th & Blondo streets. They made repairs and restored power at 7:32 p.m. to the 3,088 customers impacted.
Currently, 397 customers are still without power due to this morning’s storms. Our crews will continue to work as quickly as safely possible to bring power back to all.
6:30 p.m. – OPPD is still working diligently to restore power to a few remaining customers affected by this morning’s severe storms.
As of 6 p.m., we had restored power to all but 665 of the 13,480 customers affected by the original outage. Our field workers are still out making necessary repairs for those remaining customers and will continue to do so this evening.
Unfortunately, there was another outage in northwest Omaha just before 5 p.m. that affected 3,088 customers. That outage is bordered roughly by 132nd Street to the west and Interstate 680 to the east, near Maple Road. We haven’t yet identified a cause, but are working to restore power there as well. We’ll release more details as soon as we know them.
Below is a photo of our crews working to replace broken poles in the North Bend area today. Broken poles and trees blown into power lines by strong winds were two of the main problems OPPD has been dealing with during these restoration efforts.
11 a.m. – OPPD is urging the public to be very careful around storm debris and flood water as crews work to restore power to all customers.
Here are a few reminders:
- If you’re removing downed tree limbs from your property, please be aware of your surroundings and stay away from any downed power lines or branches that are touching lines. Tree-trimming crews will work to free up power lines as quickly and safely as possible. However, customers are responsible for clearing debris left over from the trimming.
- Assume all electric equipment is still energized, even if it’s partially submerged in water.
- Never drive into standing water on a road. It’s difficult to tell how deep the water is, and moving flood water can be much stronger than it appears.
As of 11 a.m., we have 7,165 customers who are still without power, down from a peak of 13,480 when the storms hit. Wind gusting up to 70 mph knocked down trees and broke some power poles, contributing to the outages.
We our crews and field professionals are out in force working to restore power. We don’t have estimated restoration times right now, but will provide updates as soon as we get them.
8:15 a.m. – OPPD is responding to 8,505 outages in its service territory as a wave of storms rolls through eastern Nebraska.
Severe thunderstorms are in the area, and areas at risk of flash flooding.
We have 6,804 customers in Douglas County who are experiencing outages, 1,401 in Sarpy County, 358 in Saunders County, 37 in Dodge County, and 58 in Washington County.
We have called crews in to investigate causes and make repairs.
For one affected circuit near North Bend, we’ve set a tentative estimated restoration time of 9 a.m., barring other unforeseen circumstances. For the other outages, we don’t yet have an estimated restoration time but will provide updates as soon as we have them.
