WPS efforts to restore power continue

Green Bay, Wis.(WFRV)-- Wisconsin Public Service crews are working to restore electric service to about 7,900 customers still without power as a result of severe thunderstorms last night. At the height of the outages, more than 13,000 were without power.

Downed trees and branches account for the majority of outages. As of 2:30 p.m., the hardest hit areas include:

• Wabeno with 3,660 customers out in 74 separate outages
• Eagle River with 2,345 customers out in 23 outages
• Rhinelander with 1,460 out in 40 outages
• Minocqua with 470 out in 32 outages

All available crews will be working today including those who have cancelled vacations. As areas complete restoration, crews will be shifted to the sites with outages. There is no timetable for completion of restoration efforts and it is likely that some customers with be without power until tomorrow.

As always, WPS is reminding people to stay away from downed power lines or lines that have been tangled in trees. Assume all power lines are energized.

WPS customers who have incurred damage to their service connection or equipment will need it repaired by a private licensed electrical contractor prior to having their power turned back on. Typically, a tree or branch falls on the service line to the home and pulls the customer's service pole/meter periscope away from the side of the house. The maintenance of the service pole/meter periscope is the responsibility of the customer. Customers can call 1-800-450-7260 to arrange for restoration after repairs are made. Follow restoration efforts at: www.wisconsinpublicservice.com/outages.