Crow Wing Power Members are able to send and receive text notifications regarding power outages. Interactive text messaging makes it easy to report a power outage or request a status update on a reported outage.
Members must have a valid mobile number on their account. Members can add their number via SmartHub or by calling the billing department at 218-829-2827.
Learn more about the Text Notification program and keywords here.
*Save 800.648-9401 in your contacts to be able to text in quickly report your outage.
Weather Resources:
- National Weather Service - https://www.weather.gov/dlh/
- The Weather Channel - https://weather.com/
Local Radio Stations
| WJJY - FM: 106.7 | KLIZ - FM: 107.5 | KBLB - FM: 93.3 | KUAL - FM: 103.5 |
| WYRQ - FM 92.1 | KFML - FM 94.1 | KKIN - FM 94.3 | WWWI - FM 95.9 |
| KLKS - FM 100.1 | KFGI - FM 101.5 | ||
| KVBR - AM: 1340 | KLTF - AM 960 | KKIN - AM 930 | WWWI - AM 1270 |
| KLIZ - AM 1380 |
Brainerd Lakes Salvation Army - (218) 829-1120 - http://salvationarmynorth.org/community/brainerd/
American Red Cross Brainerd Office- (218) 829-4004 - 2029 S 6th St #109, Brainerd, MN 56401
Minnesota Emergency Management - https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/hsem/Pages/default.aspx
Before An Outage
Current Contact Information. Provide your most up-to-date contact information. An old landline phone number that is no longer in service but remains on your account will make it harder for us to locate you.
Make sure your Emergency Outage Kit is fully stocked and easily accessible.
Develop an emergency plan that addresses any special medical needs you or your family members have. Call your local emergency management office to discuss necessary arrangements.
Purchase appliances with built-in surge protection or install surge protectors to help safeguard valuable electronic equipment such as computers and home entertainment systems. Plug computers and other sensitive equipment into a separate, grounded circuit to isolate them from fluctuations caused when a major appliance restarts (such as your room air conditioner or refrigerator). Consider having a lightning arrester installed at your main circuit panel.
Emergency Outage Kit
To assemble your kit, store items in airtight plastic bags and put your entire disaster supplies kit in one or two easy-to-carry containers such as plastic bins or a duffel bag.
A basic emergency supply kit could include the following recommended items:
Water - one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation
Food - at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food & manual can opener
Radio - Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert
Flashlights & Candles
Matches or Lighters
First aid kit & family prescriptions
Extra batteries
Blankets and/or sleeping bags
Whistle - to signal for help
Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
Special needs items - for infants, elderly and/or disabled family members
Local maps & emergency phone numbers
Cell phone chargers and a backup battery
Pet Supplies
Report your outage immediately to your local electric company. Crow Wing Power members need to call us at 1-800-648-9401. Don't rely on your neighbors to report your outage.
Stay away from downed power lines, flooded areas, and debris. Treat all fallen wires and anything touching them as though they are energized. Immediately report downed lines to your local electric company.
Turn off all appliances, including your furnace, air conditioner, water heater, and water pump. Leave on one lamp to know when power has been restored. That way, you can avoid a circuit overload and another outage that may result when power is restored to all appliances at once.
Keep freezer and refrigerator doors closed. Food will stay frozen for 36 to 48 hours in a fully loaded freezer if you keep the door closed. A half-full freezer will generally keep food frozen for 24 hours. For refrigerated items, pack milk, other dairy products, meat, fish, eggs, gravy, and spoilable leftovers into a cooler surrounded by ice. Inexpensive Styrofoam coolers are fine for this purpose.
Follow safe operating procedures for generators. Never operate one inside your home or in an enclosed space, such as a garage.
Listen to the local radio station on your battery-operated radio for regular news and weather updates.
If using portable stoves, kerosene heaters, or lanterns, make sure that the area is sufficiently ventilated.
If you must travel, please help protect line workers and crews when you see them on the roadside making emergency repairs. Move over from the lane nearest the workers or slow down until you can safely pass the work site.
If it is hot outside, close drapes and blinds on the sunny side of your house, drink plenty of fluids, take your pets to a cool basement location, and go to an air-conditioned civic center, mall, or library if necessary to stay cool.
If it is cold outside, open your blinds during the day, cover windows with drapes at night, avoid alcoholic beverages, and gather in a central room where there is an alternative heat source, such as a fireplace or kerosene space heater. If the indoor temperature drops to 55°F or below, open your faucets slightly so they constantly drip to prevent pipes from freezing.
Do not hesitate to contact a physician if you have any health-related questions.
Power outages are never convenient. It takes a lot of hands to keep your power on and even more hands to get it up and running when an outage occurs. Your cooperative works hard to restore your electric service when outages occur, but there are necessary steps to take to ensure that power is restored to members as quickly and safely as possible.
Typically, one of the first steps Crow Wing Power takes - to prevent injuries and fires - is to make sure that power is no longer flowing through downed lines. Restoration then proceeds based on established priorities.
The first to be repaired are transmission lines and distribution substations, because they are the most important lines carrying power from generating plants to large numbers of customers over wide areas.
Next, Crow Wing Power will restore power to critical community services such as, police and fire protection, and communications facilities.
The next priority is to restore service to the largest number of people as soon as possible. Service to neighborhoods, industries, and businesses is systematically restored, followed by single residences and small groups of customers, until restoration is complete.
Transmission lines
High-voltage transmission lines feed power from generation plants to distribution substations. They seldom fail, but they can be damaged by ice storms, tornadoes and hurricanes, preventing other parts of the system from providing power to members. Because each high-voltage transmission line can serve tens of thousands of people, repairs at these sites take top priority.
Distribution substations
Substations get power from transmission lines and carry it safely, at a lower voltage, for distribution to communities that serve thousands of consumers. A problem that can be fixed at a substation means thousands of people get their power back all at once.
Distribution lines
The distribution lines carry electricity from substations to groups of customers, like neighborhoods. When these lines are repaired, power can be restored to the homes and businesses along those lines. Again, repairs are prioritized by the number of members who can benefit.
Service lines
When others near you have their power restored, but yours is still out, it may indicate damage to a service line. Service lines deliver power to the transformers—either mounted on poles or placed on pads for underground service—that serve individual businesses, homes and schools. If you still have no power after your neighbors’ lights come back on, contact your co-op, so a service crew can check the service line.
After a storm, Crow Wing Power committed to restoring your power as quickly and as safely as possible. For those who want to help in that effort, here are some do’s and don’ts to keep everyone—the public and the repair crews—safe.
Do
- Report Outages. Let us know when your power is out by calling 1-800-648-9401
- Stay Safe. Stay well away from sites where crews are working. The work may be fascinating, but it’s also hazardous. There is always a danger of electrocution or being struck by debris. If work crews must stop what they are doing to move onlookers out of the way, that slows down the process of restoring power.
- Report Damage. Report any downed power lines, broken poles or power outages as soon as you can. This helps your co-op assess damage and provide the right equipment and repair crews where they are needed.
- Social Media. Use social media, as well as local news media reports, for the latest updates on power outages. We monitor and update our Facebook and Twitter pages around the clock during large outage situations
- Current Contact Information. Provide your most up-to-date contact information. An old landline phone number that is no longer in service but remains on your account will make it harder for us to locate you.
- Terrain Information. Provide helpful information, when needed, to direct repair crews to the easiest or shortest access routes to power lines on or near your property. There may be lineworkers from other electric co-ops who are in the area to assist with power restoration but are not familiar with the area.
Don't
- Don’t interfere with repair crews while they work. That includes asking them to explain what they are doing or asking when the power will be restored at your house. Every minute spent answering those questions is a minute taken away from restoring service. Instead, visit our Outage Map website or social media sites for the latest updates on power restoration in your area.
- Don’t complain to working repair crews that your power is still out. If you have reported your outage to us, crews are working as efficiently as possible toward restoring power, step by step, in your area. See Restoring your power after a storm.
- Don’t attempt to assist by cutting fallen trees away from power lines. Always assume a power line is energized and dangerous, even when power is out in that area. Anything touching the line can conduct electricity—including trees, human bodies, vehicles, and the ground—and pose a danger of electrocution.