Only about 3,600 customers of Oklahoma Gas & Electric remained without power as of mid-day Tuesday following the Sunday night storm that at one point left 77,000 customers statewide without electricity.
A utility update Tuesday afternoon indicated 94% of the impact customers had power back on and crews continued working to restore power to the remaining customers. OG&E indicated all areas outside of the Oklahoma City Metro were restored with electrical power. The restoration included the Federal Correctional Institute at El Reno and the city of Calumet.
The utility crews continued working Tuesday in the Oklahoma City metro and planned full restoration by Tuesday night. However, the north and east sides of the city “require more extensive work” stated OG&E in an update. It anticipated some customers might not see power back on until mid-day Wednesday.
“This is due to a large number of wire repairs needed and repairs in backyards that require more time,” stated OGE. It also explained it has prioritized restoration for the community’s essential services, such as hospitals, police stations, fire departments, public works, and other critical infrastructure. About 90% of those facilities have been restored.
Winds at 100 mph destroyed power lines, even some homes, and had utilities scrambling to restore power as soon as possible. The utility reported nearly 100 power poles were destroyed and 28 transformers damaged. It also deployed 23,000 feet of wire to crews for restoration.
OG&E stated it used a team of 1,400 restoration and support personnel to respond to the storm and brought in approximately 520 line workers, vegetation crews and damage assessors from other communities and states, including Public Service Company of Oklahoma.
A hard-hit area of Oklahoma City was near I-240 and Bryant where power was restored by Tuesday morning where 50 broken poles were discovered.
