Stay Up to Date With NLI’s Outage Map
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Northern Lights Inc. (NLI) regularly enhances its website to make it easier for members to use and find important information. The website has a link to NLI’s outage map under the Outage Center icon.
If you experience a power outage and want to see what is happening on NLI’s system, this map provides up-to-date information. If you have viewed our outage map in the past, you may notice improved capabilities and a new design.
Outages displayed on the map are posted in real time as they are received by our outage management system in the dispatch center. The map syncs with that system and is a condensed version of what dispatchers see.
If you see an outage on the map, you will notice an indication of either “verified” or “predicted.”
When an outage is listed as “predicted,” it means it is generated from NLI’s outage management system through members reporting outages via phone calls, texts, or the SmartHub app.
When you report an outage from a phone registered with NLI, the system knows where your service is located and connects it to a location in the outage management system map. If multiple members call in on a particular line tap, the system predicts the extent of the outage in the area to help NLI dispatchers and crews narrow down the affected area.
When an outage shows as “verified,” the event has been confirmed by NLI lineworkers and acknowledged by the dispatcher working in the outage management system.
When there is an outage on the map, click on the outage icon to see additional information, including the number of members without power and, if known, the estimated length of the outage.
When NLI has widespread outage events, the map gives members a view of the scale and scope of the issues being addressed.
The map also provides a weather overlay, base map options, and outage summaries.
If you experience an outage, please report it through NLI’s outage phone line at (866) 665-4837, or text the word “OUTAGE” to the outage line number and follow the prompts. You can also report an outage through NLI’s SmartHub app by selecting the words “Report Outage/Acct Issue” at the top of the page. Then select “Power Outage” and select your address to make the report.
Reporting outages helps NLI’s system predict the location and extent. If you see specific damage—such as lines on the ground, broken poles or trees on lines— please provide that information.
Although NLI hopes not to have outages, the outage map will provide important and up-to-date information when they do occur.
Northern Lights Engineering & Operations Manager Kristin Mettke is an electrical engineer and has worked in the electric utility industry for most of her career.
