December 16, 4:30 p.m. - Lake Country Power members are still digging out from this week’s storm as line crews make some progress to restore service – although progress is slow. More than 4,000 members had seen service restored since Tuesday. More than 7,500 members are still without service.

Crews are working 24 hours around the clock with the greatest number of personnel working from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m. Standby crews will work overnight and then the rotation will begin again until all members are fully restored with electric service.

Lake Country Power called for additional help and received several crews from BENCO Electric Cooperative, Freeborn Mower Electric Cooperative and Lake States Construction. Peoples Cooperative is sending six lineworkers to help over the weekend. Another four – five lineworkers from Lake States Construction may be available to help as well.

All told, there are currently 70 lineworkers on the scene and another 10 coming this weekend.

Lake Country Power is advising members without service to make contingency plans to stay warm this weekend.

More than 500 outages need to be repaired, many of which affect a small number of members per outage. These types of outages take time to repair.

Before energizing a section of line, crews must either walk the right-of-way or travel by snowmobile to see if any other damages need repair such as downed lines or fallen trees. The snow is deep – and wet. 

A prediction for additional outages from this storm depends on a couple variables. One is snow-laden trees, but the other is snow falling off the lines. Some lines are still loaded with heavy wet snow. When the snow releases, it causes the lines to slap together and cause another outage. 

The “hard hats” on the outage map indicate that an outage has been assigned to a crew. Each crew is assigned several outages, so it takes time before they’re able to reach each assigned outage. Once dispatch enters the assignment into the system, the hard hat appears.

Lake Country Power appreciates the patience, understanding and outpouring of support for the cooperative’s crews and operations team that is coordinating the outage restoration process.  

Members may call Lake Country Power at 800-421-9959 to report outages. For faster reporting, members are encouraged to use SmartHub. Please visit the outage map at http://outage.lcp.coop for an outage status.

Lake Country Power, www.lakecountrypower.coop, is a Touchstone Energy® cooperative serving parts of eight counties in northeastern Minnesota. The rural electric cooperative provides services to more than 43,000 members and has offices located in Cohasset, Kettle River and Mountain Iron.

Winter Outage Tips:

• Stay inside – dress in warm, layered clothing, and cover up with extra blankets.
• Close off unneeded rooms.
• When using an alternative heat source, follow operating instructions, use fire safeguards and be sure to properly ventilate (keep a multipurpose, dry-chemical fire extinguisher nearby and know how to use it).
• Stuff towels or rags underneath doors to keep in the heat.
• Cover windows at night.
• Maintain a regular diet. Food provides the body with energy for creating its own energy.
• Drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated.
• Infants or persons over 65 are more susceptible to the cold, check on elderly or disabled friends or neighbors.  You may want to find an alternative location with friends or relatives if you cannot keep your home warm.
• Be cautious when using alternative heating, lighting and cooking sources that may increase the risk of a fire or carbon monoxide poisoning.