Sioux Valley Energy and Northwestern Energy working to restore power

Sioux Valley Energy crews are working to restore power to its distribution system which sustained significant damage from severe weather that moved through the area on Thursday evening.

Crews are reporting widespread damage, with more than 12,000 members out of power at the height of the outages on Thursday. As of Friday at 2:30 p.m., approximately 7,000 members were still without power. The Cooperative’s power supplier East River Electric sustained damage to many of its substations and transmission structures. East River Electric has been working to re-energize substations and repair transmission structures that feed the Sioux Valley Energy distribution system.

Sioux Valley Energy anticipates this outage event may last several days for some members. Contract crews will be assisting in the restoration efforts and additional help has been requested from other electric cooperatives.

To monitor outage restoration progress, log on to www.siouxvalleyenergy.com. Regular updates will be posted on the Cooperative’s social media sites. If a member finds a downed power line, they are reminded to stay away and call Sioux Valley Energy at 800-234-1960.

Sioux Valley Energy, a Touchstone Energy Cooperative, is a member-owned electric utility, providing reliable electric service at cost-based rates to approximately 28,000 homes, farms, businesses, and industries in a seven-county area of east-central South Dakota and southwest Minnesota.

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NorthWestern Energy crews continue to work around the clock to repair damage caused by extreme weather Thursday evening in eastern South Dakota. About 9,500 customers lost power during the storm and service is restored to more than 8,200 of those homes and businesses.

Crews are replacing broken power poles, repairing downed power lines and other damage.

Stay away from all downed and damaged power lines and report them to NorthWestern Energy at 800-245-6977. Look up and look out when cleaning up after this storm for power lines when using ladders and other equipment.

Report outages online at https://www.northwesternenergy.com/customer-service/report-an-outage. The most up-to-date information on outages is available on NorthWestern Energy’s Outage Map at https://www.northwesternenergy.com/outages/outage-map

“All of NorthWestern Energy’s crews are working to restore service to our customers as quickly as safely possible,” said NorthWestern Energy Community Relations Manager Tom Glanzer. “We thank our customers for their assistance in reporting outages and damage, our neighbors for offering much appreciated meals for our crews and South Dakota’s first responders and emergency personnel throughout the state for their service during this deadly storm.”