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To Report an Outage

Call our automated outage reporting number at (888) 559-6400 or (870) 633-7100 in the Forrest City area.

Confirm Your Outage Before Calling

Our headquarters office, located in Forrest City, has a dispatcher on duty 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

When you have a power outage:

  1. Step one is to make sure that it is a utility outage, and not a blown or tripped circuit in your home
  2. Once you have determined that it is a utility outage, you should report the outage by calling:

Automated Outage Reporting System

Our automated outage reporting system will:

  1. Answer the phone and give you instructions for registering your outage
  2. Assess your information and dispatch a line crew to restore your power

The outage system can identify your account by either your phone number or your account number. If you have more than one account with Woodruff Electric, you will need to have those account numbers available to distinguish which account is affected by the outage.

If you prefer to hold and talk to a dispatcher in person, our outage system gives you that option. However, during some power outages, our call volume gets very high, resulting in a lengthy hold time.

If you are calling for a reason other than to report an outage, please call the Woodruff Electric office in your area during regular business hours.

What to Do Before, During, & After an Outage

Through rain, wind, snow, and ice Woodruff Electric Cooperative strive to keep the power on for each home and business in our service area. Sometimes unexpected conditions cause our members to temporarily be without power. As a Woodruff Electric member, you are the most important part of our business, and we aim to deliver safe, consistent, and uninterrupted service at all times. When these unexpected conditions arise, we take immediate action to restore your service.

Although Woodruff Electric works as quickly and as safely as possible, there are some steps you can take before, during, and after an outage, that make it easier to cope with.

Light

Always have alternate sources of light on hand:

  • Flashlight with extra batteries
  • Candles
  • Kerosene
  • Oil lamps

Keep your alternate light source in an established place where it can be found easily in an outage situation.

Information

Have a battery-powered radio available. The radio will bring you:

  • Weather reports
  • Local news bulletins
  • Other important emergency information

During a widespread outage, Woodruff Electric will contact local radio stations about restoration efforts.

Food

  • Stock emergency food and related items along with a manual can opener
  • Keep your refrigerator/freezer doors closed as much as possible to reduce the chance of food spoilage

Protect Your Appliances

  • Turn off all large appliances that come on automatically and disconnect sensitive equipment such as VCRs, computers, and TVs to avoid damage from lightning or a power surge
  • If all of these appliances come back on at once, they might overload your home’s electric circuits
  • Leave a single lamp turned on to let you know when your electric service has been restored

Play It Safe

  • Never touch downed power lines or anything contacting power lines. Although you may see lines that are down, they could still be energized.
  • Never attempt to move trees from power lines. Let qualified servicemen from Woodruff Electric handle the clearing and repair work.

Confirm the Outage

  • First, check the lights and appliances in other rooms. If you still have power in some areas, most likely a fuse or a circuit breaker in your house has blown.
  • If all lights are off, check to see if the neighbor’s lights are also off. This will help Woodruff Electric determine how widespread the outage is.

When the Power Comes Back On

  • Give the electrical system a chance to stabilize by gradually reconnecting the appliances you previously disconnected.
  • When the power first comes back on, turn on only the most essential appliances and wait a few minutes before reconnecting others.
  • Before switching back on your heating unit, check the outdoor unit to assure that the fan and outdoor heat exchanger are free from ice and snow.
  • Check food supplies in the refrigerator/freezer for signs of spoilage. Don’t take chances with the food you are not sure about. When in doubt, throw it out.

See how the Woodruff Electric Cooperative Outage Management Plan works by downloading the What Happens During a Power Outage (PDF).