PGE crews continue to work to repair damage, restore power following high winds

Portland, Ore. (Dec. 28, 2022) — More than 600 Portland General Electric and contract crew members are working to repair widespread damage and restore power following inclement winter weather on Tuesday. At the height of the storm, high winds and heavy precipitation impacted PGE equipment across our service area leading to more than 100,000 outages, with approximately 22,000 outages remaining at 3 p.m. today.

“We know how difficult outages are for customers, and our crews are working tirelessly in difficult winter weather conditions to assess, repair and restore power as quickly and safely as possible,” said Larry Bekkedahl, PGE vice president of Advanced Energy Delivery. “We are focused on repairing the facilities and transmission lines that will restore power to the most customers as quickly as possible in addition to conducting mainline switching to reroute power away from damaged lines and mitigate additional outages.”

PGE personnel and contract crews are working around the clock to restore power to all customers. More than 600 wires were damaged by falling branches and debris. Flood water and damaged roads have caused challenges as crews continue restoration efforts. We expect to restore the majority of outages in the next few days, but due to the severity of the wind and the high number of individual outage events, some outages may extend into the weekend.

For the latest storm-related information, visit portlandgeneral.com/storminfo .

PGE is urging everyone it stay away from downed power lines; if you see a downed line, call 503-464-7777 or 800-544-1795.

Here are some tips to help stay safe during storms:

• Electricity is invisible — lines don’t have to spark or sizzle to carry electricity. Even if the line looks insulated (such as cables or phone lines), always assume that downed lines are live and extremely dangerous. Never touch downed wires with your body or any object. Stay as far away as you can — keep kids and pets away, too.

• Report any downed lines to PGE immediately at 503-464-7777 or 800-544-1795. Call 911 if other public safety issues exist, like fire or traffic problems.

• If someone comes in contact with a downed line or is using equipment that touches a power line, do not attempt a rescue. Call 911 immediately and wait for emergency personnel.

• If a power line falls on your vehicle with you inside, remain calm. Assume the line is energized; call 911 and stay inside the vehicle unless there is immediate danger of fire or other injury. Warn others not to come in contact with the vehicle. If a person is forced to leave the vehicle while it is in contact with a power line, they should jump as far as they can and land with both feet together, then shuffle or hop with both legs together away from the vehicle. Be sure no part of their body touches the car and ground at the same time.

• Use safe cooking, heating and lighting practices during a power outage. Information on safe generator use and other safety tips is available here: portlandgeneral.com/safety.

• Stay away from substations and the electrical equipment inside; they contain high voltage.

• Water and electricity should never be mixed. Don’t touch anything electrical if it’s wet or near water and stay out of water near electrical equipment.

PGE offers several ways to get updates or report an outage:

• Text updates: Log into your PGE account or call PGE’s Customer Service team at 503-228-6322 or 800-542-8818 to make sure PGE has your contact information so we can update you with outage information via text message (outage texts are currently available for residential and small business customers with fewer than six accounts).

• Online: Go to portlandgeneral.com/outage to view PGE’s outage map.

• App: Download the PGE app at the Google Play Store or Apple App Store . Links also available at portlandgeneral.com/app.

• Phone: Call 503-464-7777 or 800-544-1795 to report a power outage or downed line through our automated system. Customers can also request a callback when power is restored.