Officials with Howell-Oregon Electric Cooperative, Inc. (HOEC), report that approximately 1,352 members were without power following the severe storms that moved through the southern portion of the service area on Thursday night, July 13, 2023. Crews were dispatched beginning around 7:30 p.m. and began working to safely restore power and worked throughout the night. Crews encountered flash flooding, high winds, and multiple downed trees and limbs as they traveled the area. The storm extended across the border into north Arkansas causing damage and power outages as well.
Two poles were damaged: one in the Thayer area and one in the Couch area. In Thayer, the pole had to be replaced early this morning. To safely make these repairs, electrical service was interrupted to additional members in the area. Crews were out as early as possible making the pole change and getting power back for businesses and members to start their day.
We would like to remind members if they see a downed power line, please stay away from it and report it to the cooperative immediately at 417-256-2131 or 1-888-HOE-POWER. Outage updates are posted on the HOEC Facebook page. Please note that Facebook is not an avenue to report an outage. If you need to report an outage, please do so by calling 417-256-2131 or 1-888-HOE-POWER. You can also report an outage through the SmartHub app on your mobile phone or on the coopera6ve website at www.hoecoop.org.
