Thousands of Oklahomans were left without power for nearly two weeks following a late October ice storm. While most OG&E customers have since had their power restored, some are still in the dark.
Brian Alford, a spokesman for OG&E, said the late October storm has been a statewide crisis that even rural and other utilities have been dealing with—not just the state's largest electric utility. The company is still finishing power restoration in small, individual cases.
The historic ice storm that began on October 26th ripped mature trees in half, caused damage to neighborhoods, and left hundreds of thousands without power.
“It’s been wide, sweeping and devastating,” Alford said.
Alford said much of the damage from this storm was found in residential backyards—which was more time-consuming to clean-up. The ice accumulation on trees that had not yet shed leaves was also a factor in the amount of damage across the state.
The storm caused damage to 178 transmission structures, 194 transformers and more than 1,100 poles and 1,000 crossarms. Workers also trimmed back 36,000 trees and removed 1,200 trees in their clean-up efforts.
As of Nov. 10, more than 2,000 OG&E customers were without power. The company said those numbers reflect wind and thunderstorms from Monday night.
OG&E is asking customers still without power to call 800-522-6870 to report their outage, even if it was previously reported.
---
Support this vital local reporting with a donation to KOSU. Click here to give.
