If someone in your home depends on life-support equipment, do not wait until an outage to notify us! Call us now: (406) 751-4483.
We will do our best to give these residences priority when services are reconnected. Power outages are a reality, and can be prolonged depending on the situation, so if you must have power, the Co-op suggests that you have a standby generator available as a precautionary measure (learn more about safe standby generator procedures here).
Flathead Electric Cooperative (and sometimes the Bonneville Power Administration, our wholesale power provider) occasionally needs to schedule a planned outage to complete maintenance or repair work on the power lines. These outages help keep our system reliable.
We will make every effort to notify you before a planned outage, which often includes making automated phone calls to impacted members. Please make sure to keep your contact information up-to-date by logging into your online account, using our My Co-op app, or calling (406) 751-4483.
The majority of our power outages are weather and tree-related. That’s one of the unfortunate realities of living in this beautiful (and heavily treed) area of Northwest Montana. Because of this, Flathead Electric Co-op has a robust Vegetation Management Program. Trees interfering with electric utility lines or equipment are pruned or removed on a rotating schedule. To protect over 2,000 miles of overhead line, crews have a big job to do, trimming trees along 150 to 200 miles of line each year. This is in addition to responding to hundreds of tree trimming or removal requests from our members. Your Co-op’s tree trimming program is an industry best practice designed to prevent dangerous situations and ensure electric reliability.
Unfortunately, we can only control so much. We can only trim trees within our legal rights-of-way, and when major wind events hit, tall and otherwise healthy trees far beyond those legal boundaries are sent toppling into power lines. We can assure you that our tree-related outages would be far worse if not for the ongoing efforts of our tree crews. Tree maintenance is a constant effort to keep our system as safe and reliable as possible. Learn more about your Co-op's vegetation management program on our tree maintenance and safety webpage.
That’s a great question. Your Co-op is constantly adding more underground power lines and retiring overhead lines. More than half of our distribution lines are underground, and that number is steadily increasing over time.
No. Power outages are inevitable due to the extreme weather conditions we experience in Northwest Montana. Individual damages incurred by “Acts of Nature” aren’t covered by our insurance, which is another reason we encourage members to have plans in place to keep themselves (and their personal property) safe in case of power outages.
Yes. Outages are a reality of living in Northwest Montana. Your Co-op wants you to take time to make a plan for your situation. Some members have animals to care for. Others have children or health-compromised individuals depending on them. Everyone’s home is different. We’ve laid out the questions you should ask yourself here.
A “blink” is:
Despite our best maintenance efforts, strong winds can cause trees to make contact with wires. As the electric system works to identify and resolve problems that may arise from this contact, protective equipment may cause:
Without this protective equipment that sometimes causes “blinks,” prolonged outages might occur more frequently.
Our line workforce is highly specialized, and it is impractical to employ more linemen than are needed for daily operations. Instead, to help keep rates low and in furtherance of the cooperative principle of “Cooperation Among Cooperatives,” we have mutual aid agreements with other electric cooperative and our wholesale power provider, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA).
As of June 2023, your Co-op will text you automatically if our system data shows a power outage at your location! Your cell number just needs to be current in our database. Learn more at flatheadelectric.com/textME.
Your Co-op’s dispatch center is staffed 24/7, 356 days per year, to respond to power outages. Dispatch’s top priority is to assign crews and coordinate outage restoration efforts in the quickest and safest manner possible. When time allows, dispatchers also answer the outage phone line. When time doesn’t allow, outage phone calls are moved into an automated phone system in order to collect information with maximum efficiency and accuracy.
We know that being without power is inconvenient and frustrating. However, your Co-op asks that you refrain from calling dispatch after your outage is verified on the outage map or by text message to the cell phone number associated with your meter. Please keep dispatch phone lines open for emergencies, first responders, and members whose outage is not yet verified. Your Co-op will work around the clock to restore your power as quickly as possible.
