View Full Version : Power outage



PennyQuilts
03-05-2014, 07:42 PM
Anyone else lost power? We went dark near Sw 79 and Council around 7:10.

stick47
03-06-2014, 05:13 AM
Almost. Just off HWY 92 ours flickered enough to cause Direct TV to restart and we lost internet for 2 minutes. It's a common occurrence over here to have the power blip a couple of times a month. Hope you weren't too inconvenienced.

Zuplar
03-06-2014, 08:07 AM
I didn't lose mine, and I'm down the street.

PennyQuilts
03-06-2014, 10:03 AM
We lost power at 7:10 pm and it came back on at 3:30 am. Not really much of a problem because we slept through most of it when it started getting colder in the house. By the time we got up, it had warmed up, as had the hot water. Very difficult to call it in, though, so we didn't know if they were even aware of it, for hours. Their outage notification system sucks. Spent nearly an hour on hold and there wasn't a place to do it, online, so it ate up my battery.

Jim Kyle
03-06-2014, 10:51 AM
If you're with OG&E, they do have a way to report an outage online. It's available through https://ccs.oge.com/ but you may have to establish an online account with them first...

Dubya61
03-06-2014, 12:23 PM
You can call in an OG+E outage report at 1-800-522-6870, but you'll need to know your account number. You won't actually speak with a human and thus not really KNOW if they KNOW about it, but I suspect once you report it, some sort of watch stander knows about the outage.

Servicetech571
03-06-2014, 07:11 PM
OGE smartgrid system automatically reports outages within 15 minutes of when the occur.

UnclePete
03-06-2014, 08:12 PM
When OG&E facilities are damaged in a tornado or ice storm, does the government reimburse them for their expenses? It seems like they don't spend much in putting in new stuff. Did you ever notice the power pole on May Avenue just North of 23rd that is bent not quite double? I have been expecting it to fall for a long time now.

PennyQuilts
03-06-2014, 08:34 PM
You can call in an OG+E outage report at 1-800-522-6870, but you'll need to know your account number. You won't actually speak with a human and thus not really KNOW if they KNOW about it, but I suspect once you report it, some sort of watch stander knows about the outage.

Yup, I called them with the bill in front of me. They claimed (via robot) to not recognize either the phone number or the account number. I tried it via voice and also with the keypad. They drive you through the menu about four loops before they send you to on hold for an operator. Pain in the butt. After twenty minutes, I gave up being on hold the first time and checked the website (as the voice kept suggesting). There isn't a place to report an outage on the website - they tell you to call the number. So I called a second time, same routine, and ended up on hold for another twenty minutes before giving up. By that time, I'd been on the phone over an hour between the loops and being on hold. Later, after trying with twitter, I tried a third time and they finally picked up. They never did list us as having an outage. I suppose the number with an outage wasn't high enough.

PennyQuilts
03-06-2014, 08:36 PM
If you're with OG&E, they do have a way to report an outage online. It's available through https://ccs.oge.com/ but you may have to establish an online account with them first...

That's a very good tip - will register - thanks.

PennyQuilts
03-06-2014, 08:36 PM
I didn't lose mine, and I'm down the street.

Most of our neighborhood was out but I could see people some distance off with power. Due west of us looked dark, too.

PennyQuilts
03-06-2014, 08:38 PM
OGE smartgrid system automatically reports outages within 15 minutes of when the occur.
Why do they have a place to report an outage, then? Not challenging you, just trying to figure out the logic. When they ask you to report outrages, it implies they need you to do that. That was the frustrating part - not knowing if they knew there was a problem. As long as they knew about it, I didn't much care because we could always turn on the generator if it got to be a problem.

Mel
03-06-2014, 08:44 PM
Mine did it about four times last night. I think they do it randomly just to let us know who is in charge.

ljbab728
03-06-2014, 08:46 PM
Why do they have a place to report an outage, then? Not challenging you, just trying to figure out the logic.

PQ, that may just be a placebo mechanism for their customers who want to feel like they have some control. :)

PennyQuilts
03-06-2014, 09:28 PM
PQ, that may just be a placebo mechanism for their customers who want to feel like they have some control. :)

Perhaps. Probably just me but it made me feel like If I didn't report it, it might get overlooked. I've had that happen a few times with comcast (not here, though).

ljbab728
03-06-2014, 09:36 PM
Perhaps. Probably just me but it made me feel like If I didn't report it, it might get overlooked. I've had that happen a few times with comcast (not here, though).

I understand exactly how you feel. I usually call to report an outage unless I've heard some news reports that already told about it or if a neighbor tells me they've already called.

Jim Kyle
03-06-2014, 10:00 PM
OGE smartgrid system automatically reports outages within 15 minutes of when the occur.I'm sure you're correct about their grid, but do you know whether the system actually detects failures on the "last mile" down from the pole pigs? A few years ago, before my area got smart meters, we had a ground-mounted transformer blow and it took out power to about 15 homes on my side of the street, without affecting anyone else in the area. We called it in, as did several neighbors, and they got a crew out in a hurry to diagnose and repair it, but they had to bring in a replacement transformer from out of town so it took about the same length of time that Penny said she was out yesterday before we had our power back...

Now that we have smart meters I'm sure they can detect loss of signal from them, the next time they poll them. However do you know whether all customers in the OKC area now have the smart meters?

Servicetech571
03-07-2014, 05:11 AM
All OGE customers have smart meters, meters send use data every 15 minutes. If OGE detects a groups of meters hasn't sent thier signal, they send a lineman out to the area that is common to all the meters affected. If a customer reports an outage OGE can possibly save up to 15 minutes in response time.

The meter doesn't know WHAT the power was used for, just how much went through it in the 15 minute period. The meter does NOT break down how it was used in the 15 minutes, it just reports total use. OGE customers can go to www.myogepower.com and view use at any time. Give the "how can I save" tab a click while you are there :)

PennyQuilts
03-07-2014, 06:01 AM
Great stuff, thanks so much.

mkjeeves
03-07-2014, 06:48 AM
All OGE customers have smart meters, meters send use data every 15 minutes. If OGE detects a groups of meters hasn't sent thier signal, they send a lineman out to the area that is common to all the meters affected. If a customer reports an outage OGE can possibly save up to 15 minutes in response time.

The meter doesn't know WHAT the power was used for, just how much went through it in the 15 minute period. The meter does NOT break down how it was used in the 15 minutes, it just reports total use. OGE customers can go to www.myogepower.com and view use at any time. Give the "how can I save" tab a click while you are there :)

Should a meter stop reporting and no one call, and there's no other reason for them to think there is an outage, like a storm or multiple meters not reporting, I'm going to guess it goes on the list of possible meter electronics failures and things to check on in the ordinary course of maintenance.

Dubya61
03-07-2014, 09:35 AM
Yup, I called them with the bill in front of me. They claimed (via robot) to not recognize either the phone number or the account number. I tried it via voice and also with the keypad. They drive you through the menu about four loops before they send you to on hold for an operator. Pain in the butt. After twenty minutes, I gave up being on hold the first time and checked the website (as the voice kept suggesting). There isn't a place to report an outage on the website - they tell you to call the number. So I called a second time, same routine, and ended up on hold for another twenty minutes before giving up. By that time, I'd been on the phone over an hour between the loops and being on hold. Later, after trying with twitter, I tried a third time and they finally picked up. They never did list us as having an outage. I suppose the number with an outage wasn't high enough.

Oy! How frustrating. Don't know why it works for me but didn't for you. Sorry you had to go through that and hope you had some headache medicine handy.

Servicetech571
03-07-2014, 07:59 PM
Should a meter stop reporting and no one call, and there's no other reason for them to think there is an outage, like a storm or multiple meters not reporting, I'm going to guess it goes on the list of possible meter electronics failures and things to check on in the ordinary course of maintenance.

If the meter doesn't report they get a tech out relatively quickly. They have found many "cheated meters" this way.