• Tweet
• Share
• Email
• Print

MILWAUKEE – We Energies says power has been restored to 1,000 customers in Port Washington. This is just the second power outage caused by Tuesday's storm. Brian Manthey of We Energies says power has been restored to 2,200 customers in Oak Creek. Power went out around 7:45 a.m. Tuesday and was restored by 8:20 a.m., according to Manthey. Manthey says the Oak Creek power outage was the only significant outage as of Tuesday morning. It is unclear what caused the power outage and whether the power outage was a result of the snow and ice storm currently in the area. The National Weather Service has issued an Ice Storm Warning for the Milwaukee area, and this could mean ice on power lines later Tuesday. Manthey said We Energies is much happier to see snow than they are to see ice. Manthey said ice on power lines presents a unique challenge to We Energies workers because getting to an outage becomes difficult because of the travel challenges, and it is difficult to work on outages in tough weather conditions. Around one-half inch of ice could affect the area later Tuesday. Manthey said We Energies has crews ready, including line mechanics to restore power outages and forestry crew available in case ice covered tree limbs fall on power lines and knock out power. Manthey said the We Energies crew tries to knock as much of the ice off the power lines as they can when they are working on an outage, but most of the ice falls off or melts off on its own. In Oklahoma, the ice storm has contributed to at least 18 deaths and thousands are without power. Manthey said ice often causes trees to bring down utility poles, which can create hazardous situations for people near these downed power lines. Manthey urges people to be patient in the case of an outage and to know that We Energies is doing the best it can to restore power as quickly as possible. If you see a downed power line, you are asked to call We Energies Downed Power Line Hotline at (800) 662-4797. Click on the video link to see a phone interview with Brian Manthey from We Energies. Click on the link under related content to see a second phone interview with Brian Manthey from We Energies.