BLUEBONNET ELECTRIC COOP PREPARED FOR HARVEY
UPDATE:
At 1 p.m. Saturday, Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative reported 54 outages affecting 1,067 members. The largest single outage was west of Lockhart, along TX 130 and TX 142, affecting 508 members. Bluebonnet’s crews continue to work through the rain and wind to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. Most of the outages were wind-related, two of the three largest outages during this storm were caused by wind-blown trees downing power lines. Those outages are the most time-consuming and labor-intensive to repair and restore power.
We currently have 32 two-person Bluebonnet crews working to restore power. We have brought in additional contractor crews to help restore power and trim and remove downed trees. At 1 p.m. we have deployed five four-person power restoration contractor crews and eight four-person contractor tree-trimming and removal crews. All crews are working 12-hour shifts, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. We will continue to work around the clock until Hurricane Harvey has dissipated and power has been fully restored.
Safety is our number one priority. If anyone sees downed power lines, they should avoid them, stay far away, do not walk near them or drive over them. Always assume the downed power lines are live, energized and dangerous. If anyone sees a downed power line, they should immediately call 911 and report it to Bluebonnet by calling 800-949-4414, leaving a detailed message with the location of the line, their name and phone number. To report a power outage, call 800-949-4414 or via Bluebonnet’s website, bluebonnet.coop, or mobile app.
We will continue to provide regular updates via Facebook and Twitter. To view current outages, go to our outage views at http://outage.bluebonnetelectric.coop:82/. My next media update will be around 8 p.m. unless events warrant one before that. In the meantime, please call, text or email me if you need any additional information.
Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative is preparing for Hurricane Harvey.
During the past several days Coop officials have worked with their vendors to ensure they have the necessary equipment, such are poles, power lines, transformers and fuses, available to restore power during any widespread outage that may occur.
Wil Holford, Public Affairs Manager of Bluebonnet Electric says they have contacted their contractors to secure additional power restoration and tree-trimming and removal crews, to augment their internal crews if needed.
Holford says they began winding down regular construction and maintenance activities, Thursday to prepare for power restoration operations.
As of 6 p.m. Friday, their crews will begin 12-hour shifts and be dispatched to respond to outages as they occur.
Bluebonnet internal crews include: 110 total personnel among 45 two- to three-person crews for power restoration.
Bluebonnet will provide regular updates via Facebook and Twitter as Hurricane Harvey starts to impact the service area. Their outage viewer will be available mobile app and website, bluebonnet.coop: http://outage.bluebonnetelectric.coop:82/.