Since Monday afternoon, June 29, and then again after power was knocked out overnight, June 30, for 12,000 Lake Country Power members, crews have been working around the clock to restore service from two severe summer storms hitting the region.
Assisting Lake Country Power’s line crews are Lake States Construction, North Itasca Electric Cooperative, Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative and North Star Electric Cooperative, representing 10 additional crews. The sixth cooperative principle, “cooperation among cooperatives,” is in motion as crews work together in the final stretch to restore service for the remaining 1,400 members.
While it’s not likely that all outages will be restored by tonight, crews will work 16 hours straight in the mission to restore service for as many members as possible today. After another long stretch, they will take a mandatory rest period while standby crews work through the night and then repeat the process on July 2.
Restoring electricity isn’t as simple as flipping a switch. Crews must first locate the cause of the outage, make sure the area is safe from hidden dangers, make sure the lines are not energized, and then complete the meticulous repairs before power can be restored.
As of July 1, the remaining outages are primarily located in Aitkin County and St. Louis County near Virginia, Cloquet, Cotton and McGregor, including Big Sandy Lake.
At the height of the storm on Monday afternoon, 6,400 members lost power. At the height of the second storm early Tuesday morning, 12,000 members were out.
Lake Country Power appreciates members’ support and patience as restoration efforts continue. Crews are safely working to restore power to the greatest number of members at a time.
If you see a downed power line, stay away. Also, do not remove debris or cut trees near power lines or rights-of-way.
Members may visit the Outage Map online at www.lakecountrypower.coop or http://outage.lcp.coop to watch the outage status. To report an outage, call 1-800-421-9959 or use the SmartHub app. Please refrain from reporting outages on Facebook.