Outages

Report a Power Outage

Before you call SWCE to report a power outage:

Verify that you haven’t blown a fuse or breaker in your electrical panel or pole top setups.
Check to confirm power is out in all rooms in your residence and outbuildings.
If possible, check with your neighbors to see if they are also out of power.
Please do not use email or Facebook to report an outage. We cannot guarantee messages received via email or Facebook will be monitored during an outage.

In a power outage, use our map to view the current outages in the SWCE service territory. You can also view current outages throughout Iowa.

Facebook

In the event of a widespread outage, you can view updates on SWCE's Facebook page.

Voice Response (IVR) System

SWCE will make every effort for you to be connected with a person when you call in an outage. When SWCE is experiencing an outage that affects a large number of customers, chances are we receive many phone calls from our members. Your patience and understanding while we handle these calls, as well as understanding the time it takes to make repairs so power can be restored, is appreciated. If you get a busy signal when you call, try your call later if you think we are not aware of your service interruption or if you have information that would be helpful to our crews in locating the problem that caused the outage. In some cases after business hours your call may be directed to the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. It is very important that SWCE has your correct phone number on file. The number you call from to report an outage is recognized by the IVR system and will identify your account. To update your outage phone number please call SWCE at 800-526-3514 and let them know what phone number you will be calling from to report an outage.

Hazardous Electrical Conditions

A hazardous electrical condition is any abnormal condition relating to an electrical service. This includes damaged meters, low hanging or frayed wires, wires entangled in tree branches or broken poles. If you spot a hazardous electrical condition please call SWCE and report the location of the problem. Please stay away from the area where the hazardous electrical condition exists!

Even if power is out in the area, there still exists a danger of bodily harm around the hazard. Do not attempt to move the downed wire or remove trees lying on the electrical lines. SWCE crews will be dispatched to address the hazardous electric condition.

Restoring Power

During any outage events SWCE will make every effort to restore power to all members in a safe and efficient manner. Top priority will be given to situations that have live, downed wires or pose a threat to public safety. In the event of large or wide-spread outages, SWCE will prioritize repairs in order to restore power to the greatest number of members first. The repair order of the system components are as follows:

SWCE crews first clear fallen lines from roadways to allow safe travel on public roads.
SWCE crews work with transmission crews to restore transmission lines. Transmission lines carry power from power plant sources to SWCE substations. Sometimes the restoration of transmission lines to SWCE substations can restore power to hundreds or thousands of SWCE members.
SWCE crews will repair equipment at SWCE substations. Again hundreds of SWCE members may have their power restored during this step.
Next main distribution feeder lines are repaired. These major feeders transfer power from the substation to lines near your residence.
SWCE will repair tap lines off of the main distribution feeder lines. Tap lines will be prioritized depending on the number of services on the line.
Finally individual service lines are repaired. SWCE is responsible to restore power back to the transformer and meter; however, members may need to contact an electrician to repair damaged member-owned electric equipment.

Blinking Lights

If you are experiencing blinking or dimming lights ask yourself these questions:

Does the blinking or dimming lights occur in all rooms in the house and in outbuildings?
Does the blinking or dimming lights occur when a major appliance turns on like the refrigerator, air conditioner or well pump?
Does the blinking or dimming lights only occur at certain times in the day?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, SWCE encourages you to contact an electrician to have your electric service checked out first. If requested, SWCE crews can check out the distribution electrical lines and equipment up to your meter socket during normal business hours. Most blinking or dimming lights issues arise from problems after the meter. A licensed electrician will be able to help pin point the cause of the blinking or dimming lights.

Outage Map

SWCE outage map will display areas where SWCE is currently experiencing outages. SWCE still encourages all members to call SWCE to report a power outage. Your outage may not be related to the outages already reported. The more information SWCE has about an outage, the more efficient the power restoration process will be. Click here Outage Map to view the current SWCE Outage Map.

Job Opening - Full-Time 2nd Step Apprentice or Journeyman Line Technician:

Voice Response (IVR) System