Not very many of us take the time to look up common words like "winter" in the dictionary.  If you did though, it would depress you.  You see descriptive words like misery, barrenness and the coldest, darkest time of the year.  Sorry.  But it's the cold reality we are living in right now.

To raise hope, you can count on FEC for power.  Flathead Electric crews are dedicated 24 hours a day.  When outages occur due to the severe winter weather, you don't have to wait until morning; crews are dispatched immediately.

We do ask for your help in determining whether crews should be dispatched.  If we all take a moment to review the following procedures, the folks at the Co-op can help restore power as quickly as possible:

1. Check your indoor fuses or
   breakers.
2. Check the breaker below your meter.
3. If the fuses and breakers aren't tripped an your electricity stays off, call your neighbors to see whether they have power.
4. Call the Co-op at 751-4449 or 800-735-8489 any time, day or night.  If the outage is widespread, you may get an automated voice mail system.  Follow the simple prompts to report an outage.

If someone in your home is dependent on life support equipment, make sure to notify the Co-op in advance so we will put a priority on restoring service.

Neighbors helping neighbors is what rural cooperatives are all about.  Thanks to all of our members for helping us keep your lights on.