By Sydney Zatz
SIBLEY, N.D. (Valley News Live) – Some people in Sibley say they’ve been without power for days after Friday’s storms swept through the area.
“I thought it was a joke. Because we’ve had a few issues in the past here, and we just thought a joke was being played on us all around. It’s just our luck, the way it goes, you know?”
Tammy Baldwin just got her power back after four days. She says she saw other neighbors get their power back before hers.
“I guess the guy told Theresa yesterday before he left, it would’ve been six weeks before they’d come back out. They said they’ll send somebody out as soon as possible. ‘We’ll call you,’ and they never called back.”
She says her landlord, Theresa, contacted the Otter Tail Power Company multiple times.
“Tuesday morning, when she called, they hung up on her.”
With nine people in the house, they had to get creative with buying a chainsaw and a generator. Because of no power, they lost nearly $500 worth of food.
“A good majority of it we did. We had a cooler, and finally got a generator to put the refrigerator stuff in. We’ve been cooking on the grill, hot dogs every night, hamburgers, just real simple. Thank gosh for the grills.”
Across the street, Jill Larson’s cabin has been without power for four days and counting. The structure can be saved; the power is the least of her concerns.
“My mom, I convinced her to park the vehicle next to the cabin here in case it hailed. It ended up that the storm was much worse than we thought. The tree ended up falling on her vehicle and going through the roof of the bedroom where she was sleeping. So we’re very thankful. We do feel it probably saved her life in the end,” said Larson.
I reached out to the Otter Tail Power Company for an interview. Instead, they told me what could be causing a power outage. Below is a copy of their email response.
After a storm or other natural disaster, it’s important to know who’s responsible for fixing what when it comes to electric service. If we’ve restored power to a particular community, but individual customers are still without electricity, the issue may be specific to their locations.
What we own:
What customers own:
If your weather head, meter box, or service mast is damaged, we can’t safely restore your power until those parts are repaired. You’ll need to call a licensed electrician to fix them first. Once that’s done, let us know and we’ll reconnect your service as soon as it’s safe.
Identifying nested outages
As we continue bringing more communities online, please note we may still see nested outages and will continue repairs until all customers have been restored.
What causes nested outages
I hope you find this helpful!
Thanks much for responding to your viewers needs and interests.
Stephanie
Otter Tail Power Company
“I think all of us in the town of Sibley feel very fortunate to have lived through this. It was very scary,” added Larson.
According to their website, as of Wednesday night, Bemidji is the only area with reported outages.
We did reach out to some insurance companies to see what options you might have if your power is out for days, including what you can claim. Those at State Farm the following:
Thank you for the outreach. Here is a helpful resource we can share with you on this topic – Power Outage Tips – State Farm®.
And as an FYI for your audience, food spoilage following a power outage connected with a weather or natural disaster can be covered by a customer’s homeowner’s policy, subject to the policy’s deductible.
State Farm Corporate Communications
