SWEPCO says it’s ready should another round of crippling winter storms hit the ArkLaTex

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) — No electricity.

No water.

Roads rendered impassable by snow and ice.

Thousands upon thousands of people impacted.

For days on end.

Such were the days during and after the record-breaking, back-to-back winter storms of February 2021.

“My electric went off and I had to spend the night over at a family member’s house,” Ronald Cooper recalled.

Should it happen again, SWEPCO says it’s prepared. “We have made a lot of improvements to our system,” spokesman Peter Main said.

“Since then, we increased our power plant winterizations and have taken a lot of steps like enclosing the equipment. Winterizing some of our critical equipment to build and withstand extreme temperatures like we saw.”

There also are steps consumers can take to be prepared.

For instance, SWEPCO suggests getting ahead of storms by putting together an emergency preparedness kit that includes:

• Blankets
• Flashlights and fresh batteries
• Battery-powered radios or televisions
• Candles, matches or lighters
• Water for drinking and cooking
• Camping equipment like sleeping bags, camp stoves and lanterns
• Non-perishable food and a manual can opener
• Important medicines (prescription and over-the-counter) and medical supplies
• Supplies for babies and pets
• First aid kit
• Masks, soap, hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes
• Manufacturers’ instructions for your generator (if you have one)
• Instructions on how to manually open your garage door

Also, if it appears that power outages will be a possibility:

• Keep your cellphones charged and ready,
• Have plenty of your medications and medical supplies on hand, and,
• Ensure you have enough supplies for your babies and pets.

If a power outage occurs:

• Report it to SWEPCO by clicking here
• Keep track of the outage status here or on this realtime outage map
• Click here to get notifications about outages and power restoration efforts

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