How To Report
When a major storm causes a power outage, Ozark Border works diligently to restore service.
OBEC has a state-of-the-art automated outage reporting system that allows faster notification and response.
If you should experience an outage, you should:
· check your fuses or breakers at your breaker box
· check the breaker under the meter (if your meter is on the pole)
· check with your neighbors to see if their power is off
· Report a power outage by calling Ozark Border at 1-800-392-0567. Phones are answered 24 hours a day. If the lines are busy, please try our automated outage reporting line at 1-855-938-3585.
Some things to consider about power outages:
· The Cooperative attempts to prevent power outages by maintaining its right-of-ways and upgrading its system. The members of the Cooperative can help reduce power outages and the cost of their electric service by cooperating with the Cooperative in cutting and trimming of trees along the power lines and providing the Cooperative access to the lines when upgrading the lines and changing poles. The maintenance that is done to the right-of-ways and power lines help reduce outages and reduce cost.
· When reporting a power outage, always report any damage you observed or noise that you heard. Do not touch any low-hanging power lines or power lines on the ground. Do not try to remove items which are in contact with power lines.
Automated Outage Reporting System
While it is our goal to prevent power outages, it is our responsibility to be prepared to deal with power outages when they occur. Ozark Border maintains dispatchers on duty 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. When an after-hours outage occurs which affects a large number of services, the first few minutes are the most critical for our dispatchers. Members’ calls start pouring in on our 32 toll free telephone lines, line crews must be called out to work the outage, and supervisors and additional help must be called in. Our first objective in these instances is to call a crew so power can be restored. The second objective is to call for additional help so the outage calls can be answered. The third is to answer those incoming calls. For one dispatcher working alone this can be a huge task.
It is important for all members experiencing an outage to report it to us.
Without your contacts we cannot determine the severity of the outage. Also, our members are very good at making us aware of damage to the lines, such as trees on lines or broken poles. This information is extremely valuable when it comes to assessing the damage and getting power back on quickly.
Tips to make outage reporting easier:
· Make sure Ozark Border Electric has your current phone number on file.
· Keep the Cooperative’s toll-free number close to a phone (or programmed in your cell phone).
· Keep your Cooperative account number and meter number close to a phone –HINT: keep your portion of one of your bills on the refrigerator – the part you keep has both the meter number and the account number on it.
· If you have more than one active account, know which account number serves each location.
SmartHub
The simplest, quickest, and best way to report an outage is by using our SmartHub app. More than 10,000 of our members have the SmartHub app, using it to pay bills and monitor usage. Did you know you can also use it to report an outage? It eliminates the problem of long waits on the phone, and it is much easier to identify which service you need to report if you have multiple accounts. See the bottom of our home page for information about how to download the app.