Causes of Power Outages

MGE maintains a rigorous schedule of equipment maintenance and tree trimming around power lines to minimize service interruptions. We strive to provide service you can depend on. However, you may occasionally experience power outages due to the following reasons:

• Weather is the number one cause of service interruptions:
  • Lightning can strike equipment directly or cause trees to fall into power lines.
  • Wind blows limbs and trees into power lines.
  • Rain and flooding causes damage to overhead and underground equipment.
  • Ice and snow can knock lines down or into each other.
• Vehicle and construction accidents knock down poles or cut into lines or otherwise damage equipment.
• Outages occur outside our distribution system, to the transmission system and substations that bring power to our system from more distant power plants.
• Animals make contact that short-circuits equipment.
• Unpredicted equipment failure. Sometimes things just break before we expect it.

How electricity flows into your home

Customer equipment

You own some of the equipment that brings electricity into your home. If any of these items are damaged, do not inspect yourself as the equipment may be energized. Call a qualified electrician to fix them immediately. These repairs must be done before our crews can restore your service. MGE crews cannot repair customer equipment.