Over the weekend, members in the Meridian Ranch area experienced power blinks. The blinks were caused by a setting on a recently installed breaker being set too low for the amount of load experienced during the high temperatures over the weekend. The setting has been adjusted and members should not experience frequent power blinks for this reason. Since the breaker is designed to operate when there is a fault or short circuit condition on the line, as a measure of protection, you may experience a brief interruption when protective devices act like circuit breakers to detect the fault. This was not a planned event. MVEA will send out a notification to members who will be impacted before any planned events, that information can also be located on our Outage Center web page under planned outages.
ETOR, also called an estimated time of restoration, will not be available during blink events, because they restore almost immediately − even when the cause of the blink still exists and can occur again. ETOR is available when the power is out longer than a momentary blink. This also means that blinks may not display on the outage map, however, our crews work blinks in a similar manner as outages. During outages or a power blink event, the primary focus is to restore power to as many members, as quickly and safely as possible. This can be done by completing repairs or redirecting power. While we understand it is frustrating, the cause of the outage is not always available until further investigation is complete. If the cause is known, we will share that information with the membership. If it is not known, please understand that our primary focus is still restoring power as soon as possible, and investigating the cause is secondary. You might ask how we can restore power without knowing the cause, well that is because our system is designed with redundancy.
MVEA maintains a 24-hour, 365 day-a-year on-call crew so if you should lose power, be assured we’re working as quickly as possible to get your power back on. The best way for us to account for each members’ outage or blink is for you to report it. Please report your outage by calling or texting “OUT” to 1-800-388-9881, or by using the SmartHub app. You may also get status updates by texting “STATUS” to (800) 388-9881. The best method to report blinks is by calling (800) 388-9881 and selecting the “blinks” option. To streamline this process, it is important to have your mobile numbers listed on your MVEA account prior to an outage event.
During large outages please don’t report blinks as outages. Instead, please call (800) 388-9881 and report it as a blink or momentary outage. You may also fill out the Contact Us form, by selecting blinks/momentary outages from the drop-down menu on our website. However, the Contact Us form messages will be addressed during business hours.
Visit our Power Restoration and Blinks page, to learn more about Power Restoration and Blinks. Regardless of the cause or time of day, MVEA’s crews will be on their way to inspect the damage and make necessary repairs to restore power as quickly and safely as possible.