Outage Center
Outage Center
WHAT TO DO IF YOU LOSE POWER
- Check the fuses or breakers in your home or at the meter pole if you are able to.
- Any issues from the meter pole to your house/building are your responsibility (including the breakers in your house). Please contact an electrician. We can only fix issues from the meter pole to our service lines and beyond.
- Check with your neighbors to see if their power is also off. If your neighbors have power it's possible the outage is on your side of the system.
- Report your outage using the options below.
- Like our Facebook page and follow our Twitter feed to see updates and information on major outage situations.
REPORT AN OUTAGE
Download the SmartHub App, login and select "Report/View Outage Status" and then select "Report Outage."
SmartHub - Desktop
Click on "Report An Outage" under the Quick Links section.
Call - (800) 833-8876 or (515) 386-4111 to report your outage. Our phones are answered 24/7.
Be prepared to give one or more of the following when calling:
- Name
- Service Address
- Account Number
- Map Location Number (on your bill)
CAUSES OF OUTAGES
The most common causes of outages are:
Weather-related
- High winds
- Lightning
- Ice or snow
Others
- Farm equipment or vehicle contact with poles or wires
- Animals (squirrels, raccoons, birds, etc.)
- Trees and branches in contact with lines
- High power demand that causes overload
Check out the outages for Rural Electric Cooperatives across the state of Iowa.
CAR/POLE ACCIDENTS & DOWNED LINES
- Call Midland Power at (800) 833-8876 to report a downed line or car accident with a Midland pole.
- Never touch or go near a downed power line.
- Don’t touch anything that may be touching a downed wire, such as a car.
- If a power line falls on your vehicle: stay inside the vehicle (unless there is a fire) and call the co-op and emergency services.
- If you have to exit a vehicle with a downed wire on it because of a fire:
- Open the door, but do not step out of the car because you may receive a shock.
- Keeping both feet together, jump free of the car so that your body clears the vehicle before touching the ground.
- Once you clear the car, shuffle at least 50 feet away, with both feet on the ground.
POWER BLINKS
Ever had your lights blink for just a split second or 5 seconds? We call that a power blink - a brief interruption that's designed to prevent an extended power outage. Blinks occur when an object, such as a tree limb, comes into contact with a power line or other equipment. To prevent damage to the power line equipment or your home, a circuit breaker interrupts the electricity for a fraction of a second. There is no need to report such a blink as an outage. However, if you experience multiple blinks over the course of 24-48 hours, check your in-home breakers for any electrical issues. If no issues are found, call us anytime.
If the limb remains on the line, the breaker opens and tries to close again. If the obstruction is still on the line after the third try, the breaker opens and does not close automatically - requiring a crew dispatch and to report the outage.
