Outage FAQ - How SVEC Responds

Why does my neighbor have power and I do not?

It depends on the cause of the outage. Remember to check and make sure your power is not out because of an electrical problem inside your home, such as a tripped breaker. If your neighbor has electricity and you do not, more than likely, they receive their electricity from a different power line or are located on a different circuit than the circuit your home is on.

SVEC crews are in the area, why didn’t they stop?

If you see an SVEC service crew passing but not stopping, it is because work must first be performed at a nearby location before electric service can be restored to you and your neighbors. Following the outage restoration process ensures all consumers have their power restored as quickly and as safely as possible.

How do you decide whose power to restore first?

The outage restoration process begins at the point where the power feeds into SVEC’s system. This could be a substation, transmission line, or a main distribution line. After these repairs have been made, crews work on remaining outages and correct the trouble, beginning with areas serving the greatest number of consumers and continuing until electricity is restored to each consumer’s home.

For additional information on outage restoration priorities, please visit our Outage Restoration page.