Half A Million Still Without Power

Three-thousand crews are in Tulsa helping PSO restore power. News On 6 anchor Terry Hood reports the power company says its goal is to restore the largest amount of customers in the shortest period of time. First on the list are hospitals, police and fire departments. After that, their focus goes to the neighborhoods.

The power trucks rolled into Tulsa from far away states including North Carolina, Ohio, Mississippi and Louisiana. PSO brought in 3,000. The power company normally has 500 workers.

The focus on Tuesday was to begin restoring power to the more than 220,000 customers whose homes are in the dark.

Some may be wondering where they start.

PSO says it begins with the main lines or circuits. The power gets to your house from a sub-station which then goes to a feeder line and on to a circuit. Priority for PSO is to fix the lines that power the most customers. For example, if your home is on a line that also powers two other homes, you'll be one of the first. If a line powers only one customer, it falls down the list.

PSO's goal for Tuesday was to repair 120 circuits. Each circuit powers at least 1,800 customers, which means around 216,000 PSO customers are at the top of the priority list.

"Again, it doesn't mean we're going to complete those circuits today. It does mean we're going to get a lot of customers back online today, we're going to make a big impact today," said PSO's Preston Kissman.

PSO wants to remind customers there is some work they cannot do. If the meter box or panel was disconnected from your home or business you need to call an electrician. PSO can only work to get power restored to the lines as it runs to your house.