When a powerful storm hits a community, the images on TV show the devastation Mother Nature can dish out. Whether it’s heavy rain, wind, snow or ice, severe weather can cause large scale outages. When that happens, Jackson EMC stands ready to respond. Every electric provider – including Jackson EMC – works hard to maintain effective plans before and during emergency situations to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. We can’t predict everything Mother Nature will throw at us, but we stay ready and you should, too!

This issue of JEMCO News shares how you can make plans and preparations for winter storms. Just as you would prepare for a storm at home, we take steps to prepare, assess and respond here at Jackson EMC. Our storm plan takes in to account lessons we’ve learned and best practices from other utilities around the country.

Some of the experiences from recent storms that impacted the Southeast U.S. have influenced the latest updates to our plan. We constantly strive to improve our plan to be as prepared as possible.

At Jackson EMC, when severe weather approaches our plans call for “all hands on deck.” Every Jackson EMC employee has a pre-defined role in response to storms. Some, like linemen, remain in roles that are close to their regular responsibilities. Other employees may shift to roles that are outside of their normal routine. For example, our accounting department becomes responsible for overseeing food distribution for everyone helping in the restoration effort and lodging for crews from other co-ops. This type of response ensures we use all our resources in the most efficient and effective way to get your lights on as quickly as possible.

During a storm, our System Control is at the center of our outage response efforts. Our System Control coordinators are there constantly assessing the ongoing situation and monitoring weather conditions across our service area. Think of their role as an air traffic controller for the electric system. In addition to dispatching crews, they use automated technology to restore power almost immediately. By using this technology  throughout our service area, our System Control has the capacity to decrease a power outage’s impact immediately even before a crew arrives.

This type of preparation helps us stay ready to respond in the quick, safe and reliable manner you’ve come to expect. At Jackson EMC, we’re focused on continuous improvement to serve you better.

We hope our storm preparation tips help you feel just as prepared at home. By being prepared, all of us will be ready for whatever Mother Nature has in store.

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