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June 28, 2011

Co-op phone problems stall outage reports

Power outages, some damage reported from storm

By Trent Moore The Cullman Times

Approximately 3,000 Cullman Electric Cooperative customers were without power Sunday due to strong wind and thunderstorms — but problems with the co-op’s phone system prevented most of them from reporting it.

Co-op spokesperson Brian Lacy said the phone system became mostly inoperable when calls started flooding in over the weekend, due to a provider error with AT&T.

“We were having some major phone system problems, and people were not able to get in and report their power outages,” he said. “We just want folks to know we were aware of the problem, and were working hard to fix it. Lines were giving either a fast, or false, busy signal, so that as soon as you finished dialing, you got a busy signal. Those calls were not getting through to our office.”

Lacy said the co-op staff worked with AT&T to correct the problem, which appears to be fixed now.

“They were working really hard with us on it, and we think we have it straightened out now,” he said. “We think it was probably related to the April 27 storms, because everyone is still trying to get their systems completely built back up.”

If the system goes down again, and co-op customers cannot get a connection, Lacy recommended they send an e-mail to info@cullmanec.com.

“That’s not a dedicated account for that use, but it is something we can use if the phone line is not working,” he said.

The Sunday evening storm caused some structure damage, and the Cullman Emergency Management Agency receive scattered reports throughout the night. The EMA office and the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office also took direct lightning strikes, which temporarily affected electronic equipment at both locations.

“We had some wind damage and roof damage, with quite a few reports of trees blown down and things like that,” EMA Director Phyllis Little said. “There was one report of a roof blown off a barn in Trimble, and some trees and limbs down on houses. We had reports from citizens of what could have been a weak tornado in the Holly Pond area, as well.”

Looking forward, Little said there is a continued chance of dangerous thunderstorms today.

“We’re looking at a chance of widespread thunderstorm activity as a cold front crosses the area,” she said. “There is potential for damaging winds and hail.”



* Trent Moore can be reached by e-mail at trentm@cullmantimes.com, or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 220.

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