Massive Outage Has Over 33,000 in Arklatex Without Power
For the second time in as many days, thousands of SWEPCO customers are struggling to find their way in the dark this morning due to loss of power.
The massive storms that swept through the Arklatex last night that brought on Flash Flood Warnings, high water and winds, also left tens of thousands of AEP SWEPCO customers with no electricity again.
At this writing at 4:25 am, SWEPCO is reporting that 33,212 customers have no electricity, and many of these customers had just gotten electricity back yesterday from Sunday night's storms.
Though widespread throughout the Arklatex, some of the hardest hit areas include:
Mooringsport To Near and South Shore of Caddo Lake
Much Of DeSoto Parish
Plain Dealing and North Bossier Parish
Keithville Area
SWEPCO crews are out in force working to restore power and they have brought in other companies from outside the area to aid in their efforts, so they've asked the public to be patient.
For some, being patient is easier said than done. One North Bossier Parish resident told Kiss Country 93 Seven that he was without power on five separate occasions in May alone. This doesn't include the two outages here in the first week of June.
In an article from ktalnews.com, we see that Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell is calling for a comprehensive review of SWEPCO.
He said the power has gone out for their customers ten times this year, and his phone has been ringing off the hook. Nearly half of SWEPCO’s 230,000 customers have experienced a power outage so far this year.
He said the utility company is the only electric provider in the area, so it’s a monopoly, and its customers need assurance. The review will determine why the outages are occurring so frequently and what can be done to protect customers.
It's likely that SWEPCO is doing all they can to mediate these issues, but Mother Nature has another agenda.
In the meanwhile, if you need to report that your SWEPCO power is out, just go HERE to SWEPCO's website.