FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EXTREME WINDS CAUSE POWER OUTAGE FOR 19,952 MEC MEMBERS

BULLHEAD CITY, AZ – November 6, 2021 – Mohave Electric Cooperative (MEC) reported a power outage impacting 19,952 members due to extreme wind conditions. At 6:04 a.m., high winds carried debris into an MEC substation, causing damage to the energized equipment. This affected members primarily residing in the Bullhead City and Fort Mohave areas of the western service territory.

Once the debris was cleared, MEC crews isolated the damaged equipment for repairs and utilized power switching techniques to restore electric service as swiftly as possible. By 6:39 a.m., power was successfully restored to 15,745 members. After additional repairs and power switching, 1,172 more members had their power restored at 7:21 a.m. The final remaining 3,035 members experienced power restoration just a minute later at 7:22 a.m.

Switching, a process which reroutes power, is part of MEC’s commitment to restore electricity as soon as possible. The affected areas had redundancy built into the system, thereby enabling crews to reroute power swiftly.

MEC emphasizes the importance of its commitment to outage restoration, urging members to report any outages. Members can use several methods to report power outages. These include calling MEC’s toll-free line at 1-844-632-2667, texting “outage” to 55050 from a number linked to an MEC account, or using the SmartHub® application on a mobile device. Outage tracking is also available on MEC’s website at https://www.mohaveelectric.com/outage-center/.

Founded in 1946, MEC is a not-for-profit utility providing reliable, cost-effective power to over 38,000 members, 45,000 meters, and more than 1,577 miles of line, spanning areas from Bullhead City to Topock in the west, Hualapai to Burro Creek to the south, and Nelson to the east.

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