Storm hits service territory

Above: Static line across the phase wires which caused the outage of the 69kv line into Custer County.

In the wake of a particularly intense weather phenomenon that swept across our five-county service territory this past weekend, the relentless storm conditions resulted in significant power outages, impacting many within our communities. We acknowledge the difficulties and inconvenience faced by those affected by the prolonged outages.

The efforts to restore power amid these adverse conditions were met with incredible patience, support, and understanding from the communities we serve. It is with heartfelt appreciation that we extend our thanks to our customers for their kindness and cooperation during this time.

Following is some information about the storm, addressing some of the inquiries we have received about the power outages.

 How many people were out of service?  

• The outages started late Thursday night. By Friday morning we had more than 4,000 consumers out at one time. This number may be low because the cooperative’s Outage Management System (OMS) was not working correctly.  SDCEA uses a Star Link connection to communicate with meters in Custer and Fremont counties. During the storm, there was a Geo Magnetic disturbance (Solar Storm) that interrupted SDCEA’s Star Link connection.   

 What caused the outages?  

• Most of the outages were due to the heavy snow accumulating on overhead lines and causing wires to cross, which causes a line fuse to trip and must be inspected before re-energizing.  

• Accumulating snow and wind can also cause a line to break or cause damage to the crossarms or other equipment on a pole. Broken wires are probably the worst scenario for restoration because they can take a lot of time to make repairs and in many cases, you may only get a few consumers back on at a time. It’s a slow process.   

How is restoration priority established?  

SDCEA follows a specific sequence for restoration efforts. Each service listed must be fully restored before proceeding to the next action in the sequence.  

Restoration Process 

1. Restore transmission lines, i.e.: the 69kv line into Custer County, which went down during this storm. The photo on this page shows the condition of the line during the storm. 
2. Restore substations.  
3. Restore substation feeders.  
4. Restore taps from feeders.  
5. Restore Individual services.   

• Since most of the outages were in Custer and Fremont counties, SDCEA had more personnel working in those areas than any other area during this storm.   
• Additional help from two contract line crews was called in to help restore power to members.
• Crews do occasionally break to eat, rest and change out equipment or clothing. They are also mandated to rest and come off the line after a designated number of hours by OSHA safety standards and conditions on the ground, mandates we wholeheartedly support. 

Safety is our utmost priority—not only for the communities we serve but for our team members on the ground, ensuring everyone returns home safely to their families.

After our staff returns to the office, we will conduct a thorough evaluation of our response to the recent outage, including both our office and field personnel. 

If you have further questions, please contact us at 844-395-2412. Thank you.  

This is an early summary, made 5.13.24, which may be updated or corrected as our crews have a chance to debrief.