Outage FAQ’s

It is very difficult, especially in the early stages of storm restoration, to provide reliable estimates of restoration times for specific locations. The situation is often fluid because of the constantly changing conditions that occur during and after a storm.

Work to assess damage and repair service are assigned as outages arise and crews become available, with the goal of restoring power to the most consumers in the shortest amount of time. Visit our Storm Restoration page for more information.

If you reported your outage using a phone number, it’s possible that the number isn’t the one that’s associated with your account. Let’s make sure all the information associated with your account is correct.

A great way to report an outage is using our SmartHub app. Visit our Manage Your Account page for more information on how to use SmartHub.

There’s not one specific answer that applies to every situation. However, a general explanation is that your neighbors may have power when you don’t because they are served through a different set of connections.

Our engineers and linemen work hard to determine the cause of every outage and make the necessary repairs.

Just because you don’t see one of our trucks, that doesn’t mean we’re not working to restore your power. Outages are caused by a variety of reasons, and the cause may be in someone’s back yard a few blocks away, or at a substation a few miles away.

For safety reasons, repairs to the electric system can only be done by trained lineworkers. Tree trimming and removal crews will work ahead of our linemen, but they do not have the training, experience, or equipment to make repairs.

When unplanned tree trimming is necessary after a storm, SVEC crews do not remove the debris. Our crews will make the area safe, but then must move on to their next job.

In these situations, call your community’s public works department, private trash collectors, or a professional tree removal service for advice regarding the disposal of limbs and other debris.

Like all other utilities, SVEC cannot guarantee continuous service. This is outlined in our Membership Agreement. Therefore, SVEC will not be liable for damages caused by events that are beyond our control, such as power outages caused by large storms.

You may want to contact your insurance company. Depending on the terms of your homeowner’s policy, your insurer may be able to reimburse you for your losses.