Power Outages Affect 5,400 Meters

Special to The Messenger

EAST TEXAS – On Saturday, April 13, the Houston County Electric Cooperative (HCEC) system experienced severe storm damage.  As of 4:00 pm, there are approximately 5,400 meters with reported power outages.  The severe storms that hit our service territory damaged HCEC’s distribution lines and the transmission lines that supply power to our consumers.

The area that received the most damage was in the eastern portion of the service territory.  Transmission lines were seriously damaged and will cause some members to be without power for more than 24 hours.  The areas expected to experience prolonged outages are:  Kennard, Ratliff, Tadmor and Weches.  If you or anyone you may know has a medical condition that relies on electricity, we urge you to relocate where you can receive an alternate power source.  We are utilizing all of our resources to restore power to our consumers as quickly and safely as we possibly can.

Please continue to watch our website and Facebook pages for updates throughout the day and night.