When You Lose Power
Before reporting a power outage, please consider the following helpful tips:
Check your circuit breakers or fuses, which are housed in the main panel box located inside or outside your home
The loss of power could be a tripped breaker or blown fuse
A tripped breaker can be reset by turning it all the way off and back on
Fuses should be replaced by a new fuse with the same amp rating
Check your neighborhood to determine if the electricity is off in your entire area
Report An Outage, Emergency, or Hazard
To report electric power outages:
Please call (800) 552-2622 or (219) 733-2511
You can report an outage through your SmartHub account*
If you need to report a hazard or emergency, please call (800) 552-2622 or 911 – The KV REMC 800 number is monitored 24/7
*To enroll or log in to your SmartHub account, please visit our SmartHub Login Website.
Information to provide when reporting a power outage:
Name on the KV REMC account
Location of outage
Account number
Telephone number
Other information, such as:
- What time the power went off
- Prevailing weather conditions
- Local construction activity
This will help us locate and repair the problem as quickly as possible.
Medical Equipment
If you have life sustaining medical equipment in your home, please contact our office.
A Medical Alert can be placed on your account once a doctor’s verification is provided.
It should be noted that restoration and duration of each power outage prevents Kankakee Valley REMC from guaranteeing consumers with life sustaining medical equipment uninterrupted electrical service or preferential restoration efforts.
Power Restoration
Restoring Power Video
Restoration Plan
In the aftermath of a major storm or other event, we implement a service restoration plan which emphasizes safety and efficiency.
Our first priority is safety.
Repair crews are assigned to the most critical areas to make them safe for the general public.
It is important to know that for the safety of our repair crews, efforts to restore electric service are suspended when conditions reach a level that is determined unsafe.
Our second priority is to restore power in the most efficient manner.
After a thorough damage assessment has been completed, our repair crews will restore electrical service by repairing power lines that restore power in the shortest period of time to the largest number of customers possible.
This occurs before our crews begin the more time-consuming task of restoring service to individual homes and businesses.
To view a detailed infographic, download the Steps to Restoring Power (PDF).
The Following Are Service Restoration Priorities For Your Electric Co-Op
- Transmission lines — high voltage lines that move bulk electricity from a generating plant to a substation or between substations.
- Substations — electrical facilities that contain equipment for switching or regulating the voltage of electricity. These lower the amount of electrical voltage from transmission lines so that the electricity can be transmitted through distribution lines
- Main distribution lines — the 7,200-volt lines that you see along roadways
- Tap lines — electric feeder lines with limited capacity that run from a main distribution line and serve small numbers of consumers
- Individual service — the line that runs from the pole transformer to the customer’s electric meter
Remain Patient
We ask that you please remain patient in the event that your power is out following a major storm or event. Depending on the damage inflicted on the electric distribution system, your power could be out for an extended period of time.
Please be assured that we will work around the clock to restore your power.
Repair Vehicle Safety
For your safety and the safety of our crews, please be aware of all service vehicles parked along roadways and service repair sites.
In the event you have any outage questions or would like to report downed lines please notify our call center. Directing these questions to a service technician at a repair site will slow the restoration process and could also be dangerous.
Please do not stop our repair vehicles on the road as this could create a safety hazard.
Outage FAQs
When you experience an outage, report it by calling your local customer service office. Rest assured that our outage recovery team will work as quickly as possible to restore electrical service.
In major outages, other neighboring utilities and contractors assist. For this reason, you may see vehicles from other companies in your area helping to restore power.
If you have a portable generator, it should not be connected to any of the utility power lines or house wiring, unless it is equipped with a properly installed double-throw switch installed by a licensed electrician. Generators that are not installed properly can feed back into our lines and may cause serious injury to anyone coming in contact with those wires.
- Read all instructions carefully and follow the manufacturer's recommendations.
- Never run your generator indoors or in your garage. Generators should only be run in a well-ventilated area. Gasoline-powered generators produce carbon monoxide and the fumes can be deadly if there is not adequate ventilation.
- Plug appliances directly into the generator using heavy duty, properly grounded extension cords.
- Make sure that extension cords are not frayed or worn.
- Limit the electrical load placed on the generator to no more than the recommended wattage.
- Do not connect your power generator directly to your home's main fuse box or circuit panel.
- Use the generator only when necessary.
- Turn the generator off at night while you sleep and when you are away from home.
- For the safety of anyone who may be in the proximity of your home, do not attempt to connect your generator to your home wiring.
If you have any doubts about how to properly use a portable electric generator, contact the manufacturer or a licensed electrician for assistance.
If you see a downed power line, it is important to stay away from it at all times and contact us immediately. Please do not try to remove anything that might be tangled in power lines.
During an outage we will have crews working on lines in your area. Many of these lines are along main roads and highways. For your safety and the safety of our crews, please drive slowly and be aware of our crew vehicles.
If your power is out, you may see a utility vehicle drive by your house without stopping. There are several reasons why this might be the case:
- The crew may be en route to a location where immediate attention is required.
- They may need to inspect equipment along your main line before returning to your road,
- They may need to return to the warehouse for additional supplies.
- Crews repair damage to parts of the system that bring power to the greatest number of customers first before handling problems at individual homes.
No. We cannot guarantee uninterrupted electrical service to your home or business. Events within and outside our control will prevent us from always having power at your location.
While the power is out, no electricity is being consumed, so your meter does not register any consumption for billing.
Since no utility can guarantee uninterrupted electric service, Kankakee Valley REMC strongly recommends that consumers with life sustaining medical equipment in their homes develop contingency plans to protect their welfare in the event of a power outage. Contingency plans could include installing a back-up power supply (such as batteries or a generator), temporarily moving to an alternate location that has electric service and/or contacting emergency medical services.
If you or another family member depends on life support and the loss of electricity affects these life support systems, you need to have a contingency plan in place.
Caregivers of in-home critical care patients should always have an evacuation plan or a plan for how to handle extended outages in the event of a natural disaster