Why does SREC share transmission lines with JCP&L?/Why does SREC get its power from JCP&L?

While SREC does not buy its power from JCP&L, we are physically connected to the grid through them. The power we buy is through Allegheny Electric Cooperative in Harrisburg, PA and we joined with the 13 cooperatives in Pennsylvania to form Allegheny in 1937. We currently have two connection (delivery) points and a tie-point between them. We do have way to remotely switch between the feeds, depending on what else might be happening on our own lines.

How are outages classified on the outage map? Why is the number of total outages less than the number of members out?

The "Total Outages" value is not a measurement of the amount of homes without power. Each one of these outages is an issue on our system - whether it's downed lines, a broken pole, a blown transformer, or some other issue. These issues interrupt the flow of power to members' homes. Each individual outage can end up affecting a different number of members depending on the location of the outage. This is why it is important to consider both the "Total Outages" and "Out Now" values to fully understand the scope of an ongoing outage.

Why does the outage map show that a crew has been assigned to the outage when there are no crews on site? Why haven't I seen any SREC trucks in my area?

When a crew is assigned from our operations center to an outage, our outage map displays a marker of a lineman's silhouette to indicate that a crew has been assigned. This marker will be visible at the location of the outage, and will have the number of meters out of power noted on it. Gathering the necessary materials for the job and arriving at the scene of the problem can take time, so the crew may not arrive immediately after the outage is marked as "Crew Assigned." Additionally, the cause of an outage may be outside the area that's affected, so the assigned crew may not need to go to the residential areas affected by the power outage. This is why you may not see any of our crews in your area during an outage - they are working in another location that feeds power to your neighborhood.

Why don't you have all your crews out working when the outage map shows multiple outages?

If there is a major delivery point or transmission outage and an entire substation of ours is without power, our outage map will display each distribution circuit out of the substation as a separate outage, even though it really is one single outage. Most of our substations have three circuits, so a substation that is out of power will show three separate color-coded areas as outages. This is just the way our engineering model and map are designed, and how it translates into our outage map. For example, when our Vernon delivery point lost power, our outage map displayed this as 10 separate outages even though it technically was just a single, large outage. However, we only needed a couple of crews to patrol and find the single tree that was the cause, restoring all outages together.

Why does SREC not keep crews on site 24/7, ready to go?

This is both a cost and practicality issue. It would require more personnel, more trucks, and more buildings if we were to keep people on site and working on a 24/7 cycle and ready to go in certain locations. Even just trying to dispatch crews into the field ahead of a storm could either put them in danger or prove to be unnecessary (and not cost-effective at all) as not all weather forecasts are perfect. SREC does, however, put additional crews on standby or, depending on the timing of the storm, keep them at the office in anticipation of a severe storm.

How do the crews work "around the clock?"

In the "good old days," linemen used to literally work 24-hour shifts, and many time longer than that, during storm restorations. This had proven to be a very unsafe practice - they are working in dangerous conditions with dangerous equipment. They are also driving large trucks on public roads, potentially exhausted. All linemen have CDL's (commercial driver's licenses) that are regulated by the Federal Department of Transportation. CDL regulations and other best practice safety rules now help keep linemen, and the public, safer. They can work 16-hour shifts and then get a mandatory 8-hour rest break before returning to work again. When in "around the clock" mode for outage restoration, the cooperative tries to schedule the majority of shifts to be in the daylight hours - when work can be most productive and safest. However, we do keep some crews working overnight when others are on their rest breaks. Thus, the cooperative can work "around the clock" to restore power.

Why is my area always the last to be restored? Why is power not restored on a first-out, first-on basis?

We focus on restoration of large sections first. For instance, we have to put a substations back in service that provides power to several hundred customers before having the capability to energize any individual services. The focus on the large pieces first get the most members back in service the fastest. From here, we focus on progressively smaller restoration efforts. The final stage is restoration of single services. We also can't restore power to locations further down the line without first restoring power to those areas closer to the power source.

Why don't we get bill credits for outages?

When power is out you do not get charged for power, as your monthly bill is only based on your electricity usage. If you have no power, you use no power, therefore you are not billed for any power. There is nothing to credit. As much as we'd like to, we cannot guarantee electricity to be 100% available and cannot compensate for power outages caused by anything out of our control, such as storms, car accidents, animals, etc.

Why doesn't SREC put its power lines underground?

Excavating trenches and drilling into rock to lay down wires underground in conduit is a very expensive and time consuming, especially when there is already an overhead network in place. Our mission is to provide the highest quality of service for the lowest possible price. Transitioning to underground would be a very expensive process and, as a not-for-profit cooperative, this cost would ultimately fall on our members.

While overhead lines are more susceptible to extreme weather, they are very reliable for most of the year and in cases of damage, they can be repaired easily. When there is a fault on the line, finding and fixing the problem on an overhead system is a lot faster. It is harder and takes much longer to pinpoint the exact location of the fault when wires are below ground which can make repairs more complicated, resulting in longer outage times and increased labor costs. While underground faults typically are less frequent and not as susceptible to weather, unless an entire system is underground there would still be overhead vulnerabilities. New residential developments typically do have their lines installed underground.

Why don't we make the poles taller than the trees?

Most distribution line poles are between 35-40 feet tall, with a small amount of 60-70 foot transmission line poles in some areas. Throughout our service territory, we have trees that are easily taller than that. Installing an even taller overhead system would require massive line trucks with 70' or 80' buckets. Navigating through all of our lake communities and narrow residential roads would be very difficult. Some equipment that linemen use from the ground would not be feasible.

Why do you have to cut my trees?

Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative continually strives to provide the highest level of service quality. This service level is defined by minimal interruptions and blinks, proper voltage, and overall reliability. Trees and vegetation are the single largest "culprits" when it comes to service interruptions. As a result, we are continuously trimming the right-of-ways to keep tree limbs away from our power lines. We have a contract with Asphlund Tree Experts, LLC to trim these rights-of-way.

These contractors will concentrate in select areas, trimming our entire service territory over the course of four years, and do as-needed trimming in other areas. Our policy when trimming trees (outside of emergency situations) is to cut and remove everything we cut. Landowners will ask for us to leave the wood for their own purposes from time to time. If you see wood laying around in the wake of our crews trimming, this is most likely the reason. This work will benefit you with fewer interruptions and blinks, and will improve your overall quality of service.

When planting trees, remember to take into consideration future growth (see the Tree Planting Guide). For more information on our policy on residential trees, please read out Tree Management page.

Why doesn't SREC cut more trees?

We maintain 10-25 foot clearances on either side of the power lines, along with 15 feet above them, depending on the line voltage (distribution or transmission). However, during an ice storm or a snowstorm with heavy, wet snow, a weighted tree can bend over or fall over, touching the lines from as far as 40-50 feet away. Additionally, in a wind storm a branch can be blown from nowhere near our right-of-way to land on the lines.

How are estimated restoral times determined?

We estimate restoral times in a variety of ways. Initially it is mostly computer generated. An estimated time factors in the time it takes the crew to get to the office (if after hours), do their safety checks on trucks, drive to the outage (which can be 30+ minutes from our yard), and assess the situation. It also includes time to account for what the reported outage includes. For example, if there is a car accident and the pole is broken, the crew will have to bring a pole with them and, depending on the height of that pole, they may need more crew members than standard. Every situation is different, and every outage is a new potential danger. We estimate the time for all of this and then amend the time if the situation changes or repairs are taking longer. The outage map should not be taken as fact, it is an estimated time of restoral.

How do you plan to avoid major outages in the future?

Sussex Rural Electric's mission is to provide the highest quality of service at the lowest possible cost. In some years, this can be a tough battle. When you live in a rural area as we do, weather and vegetation often conspire to interfere with our constant flow of electricity. From the flicker of a momentary interruption when a tree limb hits a wire to the complete outage from ice bringing down lines completely, weather and vegetation have a definite impact on power reliability. While we cannot control Mother Nature, we can learn from each outage and work as efficiently and safely as we can to keep the outages to a minimum. We have advanced our technology in the past decade to go from a manual outage management system to an automated one, and we will continue to utilize new technology as it is developed within the industry. We have integrated many separate computer systems and continue to improve those integrations so that they work even more seamlessly, bridging together customer and engineering systems and data. We have increased our tree trimming cycle so that we trim all 700+ miles of our lines every four years, up from a five year cycle in the past. We have also increased our vegetation management budget to account for and remove "danger trees" - trees that are dead or dying and outside of the regular right-of-way, but that could still fall on our lines.

Why can't you tell me how long my power will be out?

If the outage is extensive with significant damage to our system, we cannot always tell what has been damaged until we begin to restore power. A connection that appears to be fine may, in fact, be damaged and will not show up until the lines to it are fixed and energized. We try to provide estimates of restoration time whenever possible via the radio, television, social media, or through our voluntary email alerts.

Why do I need to call? Don't you know right away when my power is out?

Our automatic metering system reports kWh use to us, but because this is a delay in this reporting we will not know immediately if your power is out. We will eventually receive information showing your power is out, but this may take some time. Calling our office when your power goes out is the best way to have us address the problem more quickly.

Additionally, an outage caused by something inside your home or business will not be reported to us by our metering system since our flow of power to the electric meter is still there. If you lose power, check to be sure your breakers haven't tripped. If they are fine, give us a call and we will try to determine the source of your outage.

There was a big storm with lots of people losing power. It seems like mine has been out longer. What do I do?

In large storms, damage hits all parts of our system. Our crews work to restore the largest number of customers and critical-need customers first then work their way through all the damage. Sometimes, the power line leading to your home has been damaged and we simply have not seen it. Here's a simple test: check your breakers to be sure they are all set properly, then check with your neighbors on both sides to see if they have power. If your breakers are fine and your neighbors have power, call us and we will get our crews to help you.

In the meantime:

• Have a flashlight and battery-operated radio handy. Be sure to have extra batteries on hand.
• Have a hardwired phone (one without a power pack) or a fully charged cell phone for emergency calls.
• Make sure you know how to exit your garage if it has a powered opener. Most have a red handle to pull that releases the mechanism so you can raise the door by-hand. Check it in advance.
• Stockpile water and a small supply of nonperishable food.
• Check any emergency generator for proper orientation.
• Have a list of important phone numbers handy (family members, friends, a doctor, etc.). Keep it with your storm kit.
• Make sure you have an adequate supply of medications. If the medications require an electrically-operated device to administer, be sure you have a backup power supply or a mechanical alternative. We cannot ensure when we will be able to restore power so you must take steps to be sure you can administer important medications when needed.

During an outage I had to throw away all the food in my refrigerator. Will the Co-op reimburse me?

Like most utilities, Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative does not cover the loss of food during an outage. This applies during any outage when a storm was an act of nature, not a fault of any one person or entity.

Damage or loss from power outages is ordinarily covered under your homeowner's policy if the power outage occurs on your property and is not general and widespread. However, insurance coverage for food loss during power outages can vary among providers. Your reimbursement for loss of food in a power outage depends on your actual coverage. Because so many variables depend on your individual carrier and policy, don't make any assumptions about your power outage coverage. Read your policy carefully to see if food spoilage is specifically excluded within your list of exclusions. If you're still uncertain about whether or not you are covered, contact your insurance agent and ask him or her to explain your protections.