Yes! We offer two different text services, and it’s important to understand the difference.
Option 1: You can proactively sign up for automatic text messages that tell you when your power goes out and when it is restored. These automatic messages are not sent in real-time, as staff first verifies the outage, and the restoration, before sending. Because they are sent after the fact, these text messages do not offer an estimated time of restoration (ETOR) nor do they give a cause of power loss. These automatic messages may be helpful to those members who are out of the area for an extended period and want to know if they have experienced an outage.
- If your mobile number is associated with your FEC account, you can sign up for automatic text messages by texting “Flathead” to the number 85700. (Please note: only one mobile number is allowed per member in this system. You may need to call us during business hours at (406) 751-4483 to verify that your cell number is correctly associated with your membership in order for this service to function properly.)
Option 2: When your power goes out, you can choose to sign up for Outage Map text messages (meaning these are not automatic, you have to sign up during each outage) that may offer you a cause, an ETOR, and a notification when power is restored. These non-automatic text messages are helpful during outage situations, but they are not perfect, as dispatchers are not always able to update the Outage Map in real time during large outages.
You can choose to use either service or both.