Service Restoration

When electricity goes out, CVPS's first concern is safety, then restoring service to large blocks of customers and critical facilities, like hospitals.

Who gets power restored first?
We try to restore service to all of our customers as soon as possible. Here's a look at our priorities.

1. Problems that present an imminent danger to life.
2. Failure at a key point in our system affecting thousands of customers, such as a transmission line (a "main highway" of the power system).
3. Main distribution lines, which are smaller than transmission lines, but may serve hundreds of customers.
4. Hospitals, police and fire stations, and other critical facilities.
5. Single lines.
6. Single customers.
7. Cleanup work.

Note:
Customers with special medical needs are a priority in restoring power. However, main lines or equipment often must be fixed before an individual home can get power back.

Power Restoration Sequence:

We work from the source of the power outward to restore your electricity.

The diagram above shows the typical order of power restoration on our system. In this case, we would work from the transmission line and then the substation.

First priority in this case goes to fixing the problem at point A, on the transmission line. With this line out, none of the houses can have power restored.

Next, we would fix the problem at B on the main distribution line running out of the substation. Houses 2, 3, 4 and 5 are affected by this problem.

Next, we'd fix the tap line at C, affecting houses 4 and 5. Finally, we would fix the service line at D to house 1.

This repair sequence can mean that some homes may be without power while others around them have power. The goal is to bring power back to as many customers at a time as is possible, with special attention given to certain critical facilities, like hospitals and police and fire stations.