While storms are unpredictable, you can always be prepared with information you can rely on in the event of an outage. We recommend that you assemble an outage kit and think about adding a generator to your home.
The following are useful items to have in an outage. Remember to replace items you've used up, such as batteries, food, and water after each outage
Emergency standby generators can supply electricity to your home or business during a power outage. Operating a standby generator can be a lifesaver during a power outage, but only if it is properly installed and maintained. Understand the hazards and familiarize yourself with these important safety precautions before you purchase or begin to use one.
You can purchase a small, portable, gasoline-powered outdoor unit and run extension cords from the generator directly to appliances such as lamps, refrigerators, or electric space heaters. Always run such generators outside where there is adequate ventilation — never inside the house.
A licensed electrician can connect a larger backup generator to a building's main wiring panel. These generators can be used during electric outages to power essential medical devices, furnaces, air conditioners, or well pumps for those not connected to a municipal water supply. Your electrician will see that the setup meets national, state, and local electrical codes and ensure compatibility with our power system.
Improper installation and use of standby generators may violate state or local electrical codes and can severely endanger those working to restore your power. During power outages, our crews work from maps to locate disconnects. Improperly connected generators may re-energize lines that otherwise would be off, creating "back feed." Back feed occurs when electric power is introduced to the utility's power lines from generators with faulty connections. In the case of back feed, lines expected to be de-energized are in fact live, and could potentially electrocute crew members attempting to make repairs.
Stay up-to-date on the status of your outage by signing up for outage notifications. When you sign up for notifications, you will receive updates as changes happen. You can sign up for notifications or update your notifications by logging into My Account or by using our quick notification sign up.
You can easily report your outage and view and search outage information with the mobile app.
We monitor our social media pages 24/7. Connect with us for instant information, the latest updates on outages, valuable tips and tools, and even an occasional surprise.
Minnesota residents, "like" us on Facebook.
Minnesota residents, follow us on Twitter.
You can also find us on YouTube and visit our Connect blog.
Keeping you informed is a top priority of ours. The Storm Center is available to provide you one place to get the information and resources you need during a power outage. Take a look around and bookmark the page for access should storm related outages affect you this season.
With Storm Center you can:
Rather than crank up your heat in the winter, keep your thermostat at a moderate level and bundle up. (Who doesn't love fuzzy slippers?)
Always call 811 before digging in your yard to avoid hitting buried gas or electric lines. Not only is it the safe thing to do, but it's the law.
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