Electric

If the Power Goes Out...
First look outside and see if the outage has included your neighbors. If it hasn't, the problem may be within your home. Check your fuse box or circuit breaker panel to see if you can locate the problem. If the neighboring houses are dark too, look to see if there are any trees or branches on the lines, or if there are downed wires, flashes of light, or any other signs of trouble. Don't touch or attempt to move any electric lines or trees or any other obstacles in contact with electric lines.

Important Phone Numbers
When an outage occurs, please call us. During regular business hours, call (252) 641-4252. During evenings or weekends, call (252) 641-4247. After a major storm, calling will take a great deal of patience because many other people are also trying to call. During emergencies, we have phone lines set up at the Dispatch Center to handle the calls around the clock. It's natural to be tempted to ask how long the power will be out, but it's almost an impossible question to answer. Be assured we will get to you as soon as we can. There's no need to keep calling. However, if your power was restored but the failed again, or if you're in one of those small pockets of dark houses when the rest of the neighborhood has had its power restored, please call again. The town may not know that your house wasn't included when the rest of the circuit was put back in service.

You Can Help!
When an outage occurs or last for an extended period of time, a heavy burden is placed on the system at the moment the power is restored. This high demand can cause an overload on the system, and you could lose power once again. To prevent this, turn everything off in your home except one light. In addition, make sure the surface elements on your range have been turned off and that other heat-producing appliances are off as well, because if left on they can pose a serious fire hazard after the power has been restored.

When the light you left on glows, you'll know the power has been restored. Over the next 30-60 minutes, slowly switch your appliances back on and gradually return thermostats to their normal settings.

Leave a porch light on so that our repair crews know when your service has been restored.