December 29, 2022 | 3:30 pm
ALL OUTAGES RESTORED.
Crews completed the final scattered outages from Winter Storm Elliott this afternoon.
WEC extends its sincere thanks to:
- The WEC line crew and entire Operations team for the incredible work they did to restore power to our members. Your effort, expertise, time, and dedication is appreciated.
- The right-of-way crews who assisted us by clearing trees and helping make conditions safer to restore power.
- The mutual aid crews from throughout Vermont and New England whose assistance was key to our restoration efforts.
- The WEC Member Services Representatives for fielding members’ questions and concerns, and offering reassurance.
- The WEC office staff, stores, restaurants, and community volunteers who worked to provide meals for everyone working this storm.
And most important, thank you to our members for their patience and their care for their neighbors and community!
December 29, 2022 | 10:30 am
Dear WEC members,
Thank you for your patience during the recent outage and restoration, and for the concern and care you showed for your neighbors and community.
As crews work on the last outages, we want to ensure that we are aware of all remaining issues. Below is a list of those locations where crews are actively working on repairs.
- Cummings Road in East Montpelier
- Cherry Tree Hill in East Montpelier
- John’s Way in Newbury
If you are out of power and you are not located in one of the above areas please call in an outage at 802-223-5245 or toll-free 1-800-932-5245.
Again, thank you for your patience.
Washington Electric Cooperative
December 29, 2022 | 9:15 am
WEC and outside crews continue to work to restore power to the remaining members affected. Please expect more information throughout the day.
To report outages, downed trees, or downed wires, please call 802-223-5245 or toll-free 1-800-932-5245, or report through SmartHub. Please stay away from down poles and wires, as they can in some circumstances remain energized.
December 28, 2022 | 9:15 pm
Crews continued to make great progress today, ending the evening with only 38 remaining outages throughout the service territory. Please see the previous post for further information regarding WEC’s process for contacting members and causes for persisting outages.
Thank you to all for your understanding and patience.
To report outages, downed trees, or downed wires, please call 802-223-5245 or toll-free 1-800-932-5245, or report through SmartHub. Please stay away from down poles and wires, as they can in some circumstances remain energized.
If members are in need of a warm place to go:
- Call the town to see if they have something available locally
- Visit https://vem.vermont.gov/news/open-shelters-and-warming-centers for the latest local and state shelters in support of this disaster.
- Call 211 to find out where warming centers and shelters are located as well as possible emergency housing depending on availability.
December 28, 2022 | 3 pm
Line crews made tremendous progress today, reducing the number of members remaining out of power to less than 400. More than 5,000 were out of electricity immediately after the storm, and 800 remained out this morning.
WEC Member Service Representatives, with help from other organizations including Vermont Electric Cooperative, called and emailed those members who could be reached if they were not expected to have their power restored before tomorrow.
Now comes a frustrating part of an outage, as more remote areas and places with complex breaks take up crew time and yield restoration for fewer members for each hour of work. WEC crews, and the many, many crews from outside, will continue to work tonight and tomorrow repairing lines and replacing the more than 30 poles that were broken across WEC territory.
Persistent outages remain in East Montpelier and Montpelier where a series of broken poles, down trees and wires and other issues have made restoration difficult. More than four crews worked that area today and expect to bring at least some residents there back into service by the end of the day.
Significant outages also remain in Chelsea, Tunbridge, Vershire, and some other scattered spots around the territory.
Report outages, downed wires, and trees on lines by calling 802-223-5245 or toll-free 1-800-932-5245 or report through SmartHub. Please stay away from down poles and wires, as they can in some circumstances remain energized.
If members are in need of a warm place to go:
- Call the town to see if they have something available locally
- Visit https://vem.vermont.gov/news/open-shelters-and-warming-centers for the latest local and state shelters in support of this disaster.
- Call 211 to find out where warming centers and shelters are located as well as possible emergency housing depending on availability.
December 27, 2022 | 8:30 pm
With the assistance of mutual aid line and right-of-way crews from throughout Vermont and New England, WEC has been able to make considerable headway on restoring the remaining outages. As of this post, 878 members are without power. The restoration and repair process is still slow, but we are making progress. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work to restore power in these coming days.
Towns still with 20 or more members without power are listed below. Please refer to the WEC Outage Map for outage map for outages of fewer than 20.
- Barre Town (61)
- Bradford (26)
- Chelsea (42)
- East Montpelier (270)
- Marshfield (40)
- Middlesex (22)
- Newbury (42)
- Orange (62)
- Plainfield (51)
- Topsham (65)
- Williamstown (33)
- Woodbury (25)
Report outages, downed wires, and trees on lines by calling 802-223-5245 or toll-free 1-800-932-5245 or report through SmartHub. Please stay away from down poles and wires, as they can in some circumstances remain energized.
If members are in need of a warm place to go:
- Call the town to see if they have something available locally
- Visit https://vem.vermont.gov/news/open-shelters-and-warming-centers for the latest local and state shelters in support of this disaster.
- Call 211 to find out where warming centers and shelters are located as well as possible emergency housing depending on availability.
December 27, 2022 | 6:00 pm
Washington Electric Cooperative line workers, with a lot of help from many outside crews, have restored power to all but 1,000 members, or less than 10 percent, as of this evening. Although crews will continue to work this evening, if you remain without power at 9 pm tonight you should plan to not get electricity back until tomorrow at the earliest. More than 60 workers will be working on WEC’s system tomorrow. We will begin calling members who are unlikely to get their power back until later on this week and update them and we will update this site with more information.
Report outages, downed wires, and trees on lines by calling 802-223-5245 or toll-free 1-800-932-5245 or report through SmartHub. Please stay away from down poles and wires, as they can in some circumstances remain energized.
If members are in need of a warm place to go:
- Call the town to see if they have something available locally
- Visit https://vem.vermont.gov/news/open-shelters-and-warming-centers for the latest local and state shelters in support of this disaster.
- Call 211 to find out where warming centers and shelters are located as well as possible emergency housing depending on availability.
December 27, 2022 | 12:00 pm
WEC has now received further mutual aid crews to assist in restoring power to our members. We hope to be able to restore the majority of the remaining outages today and Wednesday, with scattered outages Thursday and Friday. However, we cannot guarantee outage restoration times. Thank you for your patience.
WEC currently has roughly 1,250 outages throughout our service territory. (Please see the WEC Outage Map for outages fewer than 20). The following towns have 20 or more members without power:
- Barre Town (61)
- Bradford (26)
- Calais (20)
- Chelsea (43)
- East Montpelier (269)
- Marshfield (68)
- Middlesex (118)
- Newbury (42)
- Northfield (35)
- Orange ( 58)
- Plainfield (61)
- Topsham (97)
- Washington (33)
- Williamstown (81)
- Woodbury (25)
Report outages, downed wires, and trees on lines by calling 802-223-5245 or toll-free 1-800-932-5245 or report through SmartHub. Please stay away from down poles and wires, as they can in some circumstances remain energized.
Thank you to our members for their patience and thank you to those crews assisting WEC.
December 26, 2022 | 3 pm
This afternoon WEC got below 2,000 members out of power, and crews continue to work. We now have crews from several other utilities helping us restore power, and hope to get the bulk of the outages restored Tuesday and Wednesday, however scattered outages will likely still be being worked on into Thursday and Friday.
Report outages, downed wires, and trees on lines by calling 802-223-5245 or toll-free 1-800-932-5245 or report through SmartHub. Please stay away from down poles and wires, as they can in some circumstances remain energized.
If members are in need of a warm place to go:
- Call the town to see if they have something available locally
- Visit https://vem.vermont.gov/news/open-shelters-and-warming-centers for the latest local and state shelters in support of this disaster.
- Call 211 to find out where warming centers and shelters are located as well as possible emergency housing depending on availability.
December 26, 2022 | 10 am
In addition to the Burlington Electric Department crews who have been assisting WEC over the weekend, two more crews from utilities in Massachusetts are now working on our lines. More crews are expected to arrive this afternoon and tomorrow to help out.
Given the widespread nature of the outages WEC is experiencing it is difficult to give accurate estimates of when power will be restored. At the start of the restoration effort nearly half of all WEC members were without power and that number has been cut to less than 2,500 at this point. We expect the bulk of the outages to be repaired Tuesday and Wednesday, but there will likely be lingering areas that are particularly challenging to restore into Friday. Crews are working long hours to restore power as quickly as they can, and have given up time with their families during the holidays to do so. Thank you for your patience!
Report outages, downed wires, and trees on lines by calling 802-223-5245 or toll-free 1-800-932-5245 or report through SmartHub. Please stay away from down poles and wires, as they can in some circumstances remain energized.
If members are in need of a warm place to go:
- Call the town to see if they have something available locally
- Visit https://vem.vermont.gov/news/open-shelters-and-warming-centers for the latest local and state shelters in support of this disaster.
- Call 211 to find out where warming centers and shelters are located as well as possible emergency housing depending on availability.
December 26, 2022 | 7:25 am
WEC crews are out again today restoring power to members around out territory. They are being joined by several additional crews from outside utilities today, with additional support from those who have completed their own restoration efforts.
Report outages, downed wires, and trees on lines by calling 802-223-5245 or toll-free 1-800-932-5245 or report through SmartHub. Please stay away from down poles and wires, as they can in some circumstances remain energized.
If members are in need of a warm place to go:
- Call the town to see if they have something available locally
- Visit https://vem.vermont.gov/news/open-shelters-and-warming-centers for the latest local and state shelters in support of this disaster.
- Call 211 to find out where warming centers and shelters are located as well as possible emergency housing depending on availability.
December 25, 2022 | 11 am
Merry Christmas from WEC crews and staff who are working on restoring outages!
Unfortunately, last night WEC’s outage reporting system had a glitch which resulted in our losing some outage data and our outage map underreporting outages. We are working on restoring that data now and will update this post when we are again reporting accurate numbers.
Meanwhile, WEC crews and workers from outside the Co-Op are continuing to work and restoring power.
Report outages, downed wires, and trees on lines by calling 802-223-5245 or toll-free 1-800-932-5245 or report through SmartHub. Please stay away from down poles and wires, as they can in some circumstances remain energized.
December 24, 2022 | 8:00 pm
After a frustrating first day of the storm during which every repair to WEC’s lines revealed another break that had to be fixed before lines could be energized, crews began gaining on the total number of outages this evening. Total WEC members out of power have been reduced from a high of about 45 percent at the beginning of restoration efforts to about 30 percent now. Most of the gains today were in Calais and East Montpelier, with a scattering of members in other towns having power restored as well.
There remains much work to be done, and the outage is likely to last for several more days at least in parts of WEC territory. Crews from Burlington Electric Department assisted WEC crews today and will continue helping out tomorrow, and assistance has been requested from other utilities as well once their restoration efforts are complete.
Report outages, downed wires, and trees on lines by calling 802-223-5245 or toll-free 1-800-932-5245 or report through SmartHub. Please stay away from down poles and wires, as they can in some circumstances remain energized.
If members are in need of a warm place to go:
- Call the town to see if they have something available locally
- Visit https://vem.vermont.gov/news/open-shelters-and-warming-centers for the latest local and state shelters in support of this disaster.
- Call 211 to find out where warming centers and shelters are located as well as possible emergency housing depending on availability.
December 24, 2022 | 5:00 pm
Crews continue to work to restore power. As noted below, the progress to repair extensive damage is slow, with many trees on lines and lines down. Again, it is still expected to be several days before all members have power restored. Next update around 12 pm on December 25.
Report outages, downed wires, and trees on lines by calling 802-223-5245 or toll-free 1-800-932-5245 or report through SmartHub. Please stay away from down poles and wires, as they can in some circumstances remain energized.
If members are in need of a warm place to go:
- Call the town to see if they have something available locally
- Visit https://vem.vermont.gov/news/open-shelters-and-warming-centers for the latest local and state shelters in support of this disaster.
- Call 211 to find out where warming centers and shelters are located as well as possible emergency housing depending on availability.
December 24, 2022 | 10:04 am
Crews are discovering that each break in the line they repair or tree across the lines they remove only reveals another issue farther along which must be corrected before the power can be restored. That, combined with challenging weather in the form of wind and snow yesterday evening, has made progress slow. Burlington Electric Department has generously sent crews to assist WEC, and we are hoping for additional crews to arrive tomorrow. However, it is still expected to be several days before all members have power restored.
Report outages, downed wires, and trees on lines by calling 802-223-5245 or toll-free 1-800-932-5245 or report through SmartHub. Please stay away from down poles and wires, as they can in some circumstances remain energized.
If members are in need of a warm place to go:
- Call the town to see if they have something available locally
- Visit https://vem.vermont.gov/news/open-shelters-and-warming-centers for the latest local and state shelters in support of this disaster.
- Call 211 to find out where warming centers and shelters are located as well as possible emergency housing depending on availability.
December 23, 2022 | 6:27 pm
WEC crews continue to work on restoring power. High winds caused many trees to come down around our territory bringing lines and poles down with them. At this time more than 40% of WEC members are out of power. Hardest hit towns include Calais, East Montpelier, Marshfield, and Middlesex among others. This remains likely to be a multi-day outage event, and WEC has requested help from other utilities.
Report outages, downed wires, and trees on lines by calling 802-223-5245 or toll-free 1-800-932-5245 or report through SmartHub.
If members are in need of a warm place to go:
- Call the town to see if they have something available locally
- Visit https://vem.vermont.gov/news/open-shelters-and-warming-centers for the latest local and state shelters in support of this disaster.
- Call 211 to find out where warming centers and shelters are located as well as possible emergency housing depending on availability.
December 23, 2022 | 2:45 pm
Roughly 45% of WEC members are currently without power. Crews are working to clear storm damage and restore power. Again, we have asked for mutual aid crews and will hopefully deploy them on Saturday. Travel conditions are worsening and the State has strongly suggested to arrive wherever you need to be before 4 pm today.
Report outages, downed wires, and trees on lines by calling 802-223-5245 or toll-free 1-800-932-5245 or report through SmartHub.
If members are in need of a warm place to go:
- Call the town to see if they have something available locally
- Visit https://vem.vermont.gov/news/open-shelters-and-warming-centers for the latest local and state shelters in support of this disaster.
- Call 211 to find out where warming centers and shelters are located as well as possible emergency housing depending on availability.
December 23, 2022 | 10:30 am
WEC is experiencing widespread outages due to high winds, including downed trees, trees on lines, broken poles, and other storm damage. We are assessing the damage and best course of action for restoring power to our members. We have requested mutual aid from other utilities.
The damage caused by this storm is extensive and will take days to repair. At this time, we have more than 4,500 members without power. We do not have an estimated full restoration time or day yet.
We ask that members continue to call in their outages, any trees on lines, downed wires, etc. This will help us identify outages and work to restore them more quickly. Please call 802-223-5245 or toll-free 1-800-932-5245 or report through SmartHub.
Thank you for your patience as we work to assess the damage caused by this storm and to restore power.
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