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Why Power Outages Occur
Upper Peninsula Power Company makes every effort to provide you with
constant, reliable service, but sometimes conditions beyond our control can
cause power outages. Learn more about the most common causes of power outages
in our area.
Weather-Related Causes of Power Outages
- Lightning - Lightning is a common cause of outages during storms.
Lightning strikes can hit our electrical equipment, causing you to lose
power. Lightning can also strike trees, which may fall onto power lines and
cause outages.
- Ice - Ice storms create a buildup of ice on power lines and on
trees. The weight of the ice can cause tree limbs and entire trees to fall
onto power lines, causing an outage.
- Wind - High winds may cause objects, such as fallen trees, to come
in contact with power lines. If that happens, circuit breakers or other
protective equipment will shut off the flow of power. Wind may also blow tree
limbs or entire trees onto the power lines, causing the lines to fall to the
ground, or breaking the lines and poles.
- Rain and Flooding - Heavy rains can cause flooding in certain areas.
Floods can cause damage to both above-ground and underground electrical
equipment. To prevent major damage, UPPCO may need to shut the equipment down,
affecting service to some customers.
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Other Causes of Power Outages
- Car Accidents - Car accidents can cause power outages, as they
sometimes result in broken poles, causing power lines to break or touch.
- Animals - Animals can also cause power outages when they climb on
equipment, such as transformers and fuses, causing the equipment to shut down.
By shutting down, the equipment protects the rest of the system.
- Planned Outages - It is sometimes necessary to interrupt power to
area homes and businesses for a period of time, to perform maintenance work on
our system. Before this occurs, UPPCO makes every effort to alert affected
customers and communities in advance of these planned outages.
View our latest
News Releases
for UPPCO's most recent planned outages, along with other important company news.
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2007 Power Outages
Power outages happen when you least expect them. In 2007, here's why most of them
occurred:
- 34.6% Fallen Trees and Tree Growth
- 18.3% Animal Contact
- 17.8% Unknown and Miscellaneous: mechanical damage, construction error,
fire, etc.
- 16.3% Equipment Wear and Tear
- 9.4% Lightning and Other Weather: wind, rain, snow, heat, cold and ice
- 3.7% Human Error: underground digging, cranes, traffic, vandalism, etc.
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