At 4 a.m. on April 27, a severe storm with heavy lightning and powerful winds caused significant damage and left 30,000 Sam Houston Electric Cooperative members without service. The large storm caused power outages from central Texas to Louisiana.
Traveling west to east, the storm knocked down lines, poles and trees across the system. The Cooperative had crews ready to respond, and power was restored to 21,000 members on Monday.
The Co-op brought in more than 100 additional contractors who arrived throughout Monday and into the night to help restore service as quickly as possible. As of Tuesday at 11 a.m., service had been restored to 24,200 members, and crews are continuing efforts to restore power to the remaining 5,800.
“If you see crews working, please do not approach the trucks,” chief communications officer Keith Stapleton said. “Our line technicians and contractors have dangerous jobs, and we want our members to stay a safe distance away for their personal protection. If you have any questions, please call the Cooperative at 800-458-0381 or our outage hotline at 888-444-1207.”
“We appreciate our members’ patience, and we are thankful for the dedicated employees who work tirelessly so power is restored to our members,” Stapleton said. “We understand that living without electricity is uncomfortable, and Sam Houston Electric Cooperative is working to restore power to all members as quickly as possible.”
Restoration updates can be found at www.samhouston.net and on the Cooperative’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/SamHoustonEC.
