Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC) encourages members to be prepared for significant rainfall and high winds in the forecast beginning Sunday afternoon.  

SVEC will have extra support staff on standby, ready to respond, should outages occur and additional help is required. The cooperative continues to monitor the progression of the storm and is in regular contact with weather tracking services for the latest information.

The potential for heavy rain and high winds presents the chance for power outages. Additionally, “blinking” of lights may occur, which is a normal condition during an event such as this.  

SVEC makes every effort to have power restored to members as quickly and safely as possible. The cooperative prioritizes restoration by first working scenes that will bring the most people back on. When available, estimated times for restoration will be provided in the Outage Center on http://www.svec.coop and through the MySVEC app. In the case of widespread outages, these estimated times may not be provided. Crews are practicing “social distancing” as best as they can when working outages during the pandemic virus. Current co-op policy restricts direct contact with members to lower the risk of exposure.

The cooperative would like to offer these tips in case of an outage: 

• Do not make any attempts to clear trees or other debris from power lines. Note the location, and any other important information regarding these situations, and please contact SVEC immediately at 1-800-234-7832. The cooperative will work to ensure that power is restored as soon as possible. Avoid contact with downed power lines.

• To report an outage, contact SVEC at 1-800-234-7832, even if you think your neighbor may have called. It is more effective for SVEC to know the location of all outages. Please do not report outages through SVEC’s social media channels or via email.

• Make sure that your cell phone is fully charged, in the event of an outage. 

• Download the SVEC app, MySVEC, to report your outage and more. Visit www.svec.coop/app. 

To make sure you and your family have the necessities for an outage, SVEC advises that you prepare a home outage kit. Important items to include are:

• Flashlights and extra batteries
• A battery operated radio
• Candles or lanterns and matches
• An alternate source of heat
• Canned or packaged foods, powdered milk and beverages, dry cereal
• Water (one gallon per person per day for drinking; fill bathtub and other containers for flushing toilets and other needs)             
• Non-electric can opener
• Disposable plates and utensils
• Camp stove or other emergency cooking device
• Extra blankets or sleeping bags
• Fire extinguisher
• First aid kit
• If needed, extra baby food, formula, diapers