Outages Outages are definitely an unwanted occurrence from both the standpoints of the member as well as the Cooperative. Unfortunately, there is no way to prevent all outages. Mother Nature can be a fickle lady and produce extensive damage in a very short period of time. When an event such as this occurs, the Cooperative suspends normal operation and focuses totally on its restoration effort. Outages can be caused by a variety of reasons or combination of reasons.
Weather is the main contributor to system outages, but other items can cause problems.
One concept that is hard for many members to understand is the delivery of power to the Cooperative's distribution network. Southside Electric Cooperative is a Distribution Cooperative. This means that the Cooperative does not generate any electricity, it merely maintains the lines that deliver power to the member. Make sure the trouble is not inside your house. Check to see if you neighbor has lights and try to determine the extent of the power outage.