Winter Storm Bruce was the cause of power outages impacting Corn Belt Energy cooperative members last night and today. Approximately 2,985 members throughout Corn Belt Energy’s service territory remain without power due to heavy snow, ice and wind. The extensive outages include several substations, several single and three-phase poles and downed lines.
Corn Belt Energy crews have been actively engaged in the restoration process since approximately 7:00 pm on Sunday evening. In addition to repairing downed lines and broken poles, crews are working on a phase in the Towanda substation, several circuits in the Wedron and Deer Park substations as well as are making repairs to the Princeton substation. Due to the extent of outages, Corn Belt Energy requested assistance from other utilities. A crew from the City of Geneseo will be assisting restoration efforts in our northern service area which is where the extent of the storm damage is located.
We do not have estimated safe restoration times for these widespread outages but hope to have power restored to all members by this evening pending unforeseen issues such as weather conditions and the ability to travel to the locations in need of repair. Corn Belt Energy encourages members to check on neighbors who may be without power, especially the elderly and those with physical limitations. We urge members who are concerned about prolonged outages to find an alternative location to stay such as a relative or friend’s home or a local warming center.
We encourage members to contact us at 1-800-879-0339 to report power outages and downed lines or poles.
As a reminder, people should not go near any downed power lines, downed poles, or trees near lines.
To check for outage updates, members can call 1-800-879-0339 or use their cell phone to view outage updates at www.cornbeltenergy.com or on Facebook or Twitter.