Why is my power out?

By Leslie Blevins, Supervisor of Customer Engagement

The other night I finally sat down after a long day with my blanket on, popcorn in hand, a good show on the TV – when the lights flickered. Just for a second. I immediately wondered if this was going to be a full outage or just a blink.

Thankfully, the lights stayed on. But it reminded me how many questions we get every time something like that happens.

You might be surprised to know that those blinks are actually the system doing its job. We have protective devices across our electric system that are designed to isolate problems and, if possible, restore services automatically. So, if a tree branch briefly brushes against the power lines, you might see your lights flicker as the system checks to see if it can restore power on its own. Sometimes the problem (tree branch) self-clears and the system can automatically restore power. Sometimes the problem remains in place and requires a crew to locate and fix the problem.

One thing we get asked quite a bit is: “How long is this going to take?” We get it. Being without power is incredibly frustrating and there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Restoration time depends on several factors including how widespread the outage is, how severe the damage is, what caused it, how many people are affected, and more. Sometimes we find the issue and can fix it quickly. Other times, we discover a tree fell hours after the storm ended or an animal caused unexpected damage. There are just a lot of moving parts.

You may also wonder why a BTES truck drove past your house without stopping. It’s a fair question! But before we can start fixing anything, we have to figure out exactly where the issue is and if it is a single issue in one location or multiple issues at different locations. That sometimes means our team needs to "ride the line" and assess the damage. And during bigger outages, it may be one of our engineers or other employees doing that assessment while the line crews focus on restoring power as quickly as possible.

And yes, sometimes your neighbor gets power back before you do. You may think you’re both on the same line, but that’s not always the case. One side of the street might be on a different circuit or substation entirely. It could also be that your individual service line has damage that needs special attention.

If your power does go out, for BTES fiber customers, power outages are automatically reported by the fiber optic equipment. We also encourage all customers to report their outage through our automated outage reporting system: 423-968-BTES (2837). It helps us pinpoint where the issue is using caller ID, which is why it’s so important to make sure the number we have on file is up to date. That way, when you call, your outage is automatically logged, and we can respond faster.

We follow an industry-standard process that starts with hospitals, fire stations, and police departments. Then we move to repairs that impact the most customers, like major lines and substations. After that, we move on to neighborhoods and individual homes. Everyone’s on the list, and we work around the clock until everyone’s power is restored.

One last reminder: if you ever see a downed power line, don’t go near it. Even if it looks harmless, it could still be energized. Always assume it's dangerous, report it to BTES, and keep kids and pets away.

We do everything we can to provide reliable services, but when outages do happen, we’re here working hard behind the scenes to get things back to normal as quickly and safely as possible.