Show All Answers

1. How do I report an outage?

If the outage is after 5:00pm on weekdays, holidays, or the weekend call 580-767-0405 and follow the recorded prompts. If during working hours call 580-767-0405 and you will talk to a live person. 

2. Where does Ponca City Energy (PCE) get its power?

PCE is a member of the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority ( OMPA) which is a state government agency that provides low-cost wholesale power to cities and towns that own their own electric utilities.  OMPA’s power sources come from different resources such as wind, hydroelectric, natural gas and coal.

3. My power went out, what do I do?

      - Look around to see if neighbors have power.

     - Check your breakers in your electric panel?  Turn the Main Breaker off for 30 seconds and turn back on.    

     - If possible, observe your electric meter. If the meter is blank then report you have an outage and the meter is blank.

4. How do I report an outage?

To report an outage call 767-0405. This number will get you to our office staff during normal working hours and connect you to our Interactive Voice Response (IVR) for afterhours reporting.  High call volume may not allow your call to get through. Try again later.

5. What does my electric line look like?

The electric line or service line is 2 black and 1 silver wire twisted together and goes from the pole to the point-of-connection on the house.

6. What is a point-of-connection?

The point of connections is the location where the service line connects to your house.  It may be to a weatherhead on the roof or a house knob on side of house.

7. Where is my meter and what does it look like?

Electric meters are usually located on the side or back of your house.  In some cases they are located on a service loop pole.

 

8. Why can’t Ponca City Energy tell when the power will be back on?

Service will be restored as quickly as possible. When the outage happened, the cause may not be known until crews have had a chance to troubleshoot the problem. Once, the cause is found, the outage can generally have an estimated restoration time, but there is also the chance that other problems will arise during the repairs.

9. Who is responsible if I have trees growing in the power line to my electric meter?

Trees on private property are the responsibility of the property owner. Ponca City Energy will trim back any branch that is rubbing hard on the electric line. This is a minimal trim and is done to protect the line and keep power on. If a homeowner wishes to cut more, they can hire a private tree trimmer and PCE can temporarily drop the line for them to complete the work if needed. Every attempt should be made by the property owner to keep from trees growing in the line continuously.

10. I have an object or a tree limb hanging on my electric line, who I call?

Call 767-0405.  PCE can remove the limb or object from on the line. Remember the electric line is the 2 back and 1 silver twisted wire. The black lines may be a different service like telephone or cable.

11. A broken limb is on my power line what should I do?

Call PCE who can determine if it is your power line. It could be phone or cable TV. If it is your electric line we will dispatch a crew to safely remove it.

12. What are the major causes of Power Outages?

PCE has an Outage Management System that collects data on ever outage on our system.  According to the Reliability Reports from the Outage Management the major causes are:

     # 1 Cause    -    WEATHER

     # 2 Cause    -    Squirrels, birds/animals

     # 3 Cause    -     Unknown – could not find a visible reason

     # 4 Cause    -     Equipment Failure

     # 5 Cause    -     Trees

13. How far should I plant my tree from the electric lines?

Plant taller trees away from the electric lines!  See www.arborday.org/programs/treelineusa/ for more information.

14. Why does the power company trim so much off my trees near the main power lines?

PCE has a 4 trim cycle, which means we try to trim near your home at least every 4 years. To make this possible, at least 10 feet needs to be removed from most trees each trim cycle. Trees are pruned according to their closeness to the power line. This is all done to provide you with safe reliable power. Trees and power lines do not mix.