Outage Center

Report a Power Outage

To report a power outage, please call Fayette Electric Cooperative Inc. at either of the following numbers:
979-968-3181 or 1-866-968-3181, or text "out" to 1-844-971-1048.

When a call or text is received to report an outage, our outage management system uses your telephone number or account number to identify the location without power. When power is lost, most do not remember their account number and therefore use their phone number when reporting an outage to the automated system. It is essential to keep your phone number and email address current on your account to report the outage through the automated system and to receive notifications.

So, if you’ve changed your phone number lately, give us a call at (979) 968-3181 or log into your SmartHub® account and click “Contact Us” to update your records. Current e-mail addresses are also important if we need to contact you. It may save you some time and frustration later.

Did you know you can now report a power outage and view our Outage Map in the SmartHub app?

Enroll Now View Outage Map

Storm Center

Stay Safe During an Outage

What To Do If Your Power Goes Off

To report a power outage 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, call Fayette Electric Cooperative inc. at one of the following numbers: (979) 968-3181 or 1-866-968-3181.

Did you know you can now report a power outage and view our Outage Map the SmartHub app?

Enroll Now View our Outage Map

Be Prepared for Storms!

If your lights go off during a storm, be prepared for the power outage. Assemble supplies to have on hand rather than rushing around when the storm is coming.

Texas Division of Emergency Management
Hurricane Preparedness Guidelines
Preparing for Hurricane Season: June 1–November 30

Evacuation Planning: When a hurricane threatens, listen for instructions from local officials. If they call for an evacuation in your area, get going without delay.
Discuss evacuation plans with your family before hurricane season, June 1–November 30. Make a checklist of what you need to do before you leave town and review it.
Monitor NOAA Weather Radio, local TV and radio broadcasts during storm season.
Prepare an emergency supply kit that includes a radio, flashlight, extra batteries, extra eyeglasses, bottled water, nonperishable food, dry clothes, bedding, insurance information, important documents, medications, copies of prescriptions and special products for babies, seniors, medically fragile family members and pets.
Learn evacuation routes before storm season. When there’s a hurricane in the Gulf, keep your gas tank as full as possible. Expect traffic delays in an evacuation.
Register with the State of Texas Emergency Assistance Registry online at stear.dps.texas.gov or dial 211 to register if you have a disability or medical needs, or if you simply do not have transportation. Gulf Coast residents in evacuation zones who have a disability or medical needs who do not have friends or family to help or do not have transportation should register with STEAR in advance.

División de Administración de Emergencias de Texas
Guía para Huracanes
Preparando para la temporada de huracanes
desde el 1 de junio hasta el 30 de noviembre

EvAcuación en caso de Huracán: Cuando exista una amenaza de huracán, escuche las instrucciones de funcionarios locales. Cuando llamen para una evacuación en su área, evacue del área lo más pronto posible.

Discuta los planes de evacuación con su familia antes de la temporada de huracánes, que empieza el 1 de junio y termina el 30 de noviembre. Haga una lista de lo que usted debe hacer antes de salir de la ciudad y revísela.
Escuche la radio y televisión durante la temporada de huracanes.
Prepare un equipo de emergencia que incluya un radio, linterna, repuesto de baterías, anteojos extras, agua embotellada, alimentos no perecederos, ropa extra, ropa de cama, información de seguros, documentos importantes, medicinas, copias de recetas medicas y productos especiales para bebés, las personas mayores, miembros de la familia médicamente frágiles y mascotas.
Aprenda sus rutas de evacuación antes de la temporada de huracanes. Cuando haya un huracán en el Golfo, mantenga el tanque de gasolina lleno. Esté consiente de que habrá demoras de tráfico.
Puede regístrese con el State of Texas Emergency Assistance Registry en la página web, stear.dps.texas.gov, o llamando al 211 para registrarse si usted tiene una discapacidad o necesidades médicas o si simplemente no tiene transporte. Los residentes que viven en la Costa del Golfo en zonas de evacuación con una discapacidad o necesidades médicas quienes no tienen amigos o familiares para ayudarles o no tienen transporte deben registrarse con STEAR por adelantado.

Preparation is crucial to staying safe

The chaos of a hurricane and the devastation of its aftermath are both dangerous.

Take the time now to learn how to avoid electrical hazards related to hurricanes.

People may feel a sense of relief after a hurricane passes. However, hurricanes leave behind many dangers. You still have to be diligent to stay safe.

Another danger after a storm is generators, which should always be used in an open space. Never fuel them when they are on, and never operate them if it is wet or you are wet.

Follow these tips to help you stay safe—before, during, and after a hurricane.

Before a hurricane:

Prepare your home. Have electrical problems inspected and repaired. Trim dead tree limbs. Contact a professional to trim trees near power lines. A prepared home will withstand extreme conditions better.
Know the location of your natural gas shutoff valve and breaker box.
If you own a generator, familiarize yourself with the operator’s manual and learn how to operate it safely.
When working to protect your home from a hurricane, take the time to look up and around you. Always be aware of the location of power lines, particularly when using long metal tools like ladders and pruning poles or when installing straps or clips to securely fasten your roof to the frame structure. Keep equipment and yourself at least 10 feet from lines.

During a hurricane:

Pay attention to local media. Be prepared to evacuate.
If instructed, turn off natural gas and electricity. This will make it safer to return to your home if it sustains damage. NEVER turn gas back on yourself. This is a job for utility professionals.
If you cannot evacuate, go to a windowless room.

After a hurricane:

Treat all power lines as energized and lethally dangerous. Do not approach them or drive over them.
Be careful near damaged trees and other debris, which can hide electrical hazards.
Do not enter floodwaters on foot, in a car, or in a boat. Floodwaters contain unknown hazards and can quickly sweep you away.
Do not use equipment if it is damp, you are damp, or you are working in damp conditions.
If you smell natural gas, evacuate and report it immediately. Do not use candles or anything with a spark that could ignite the natural gas.
Follow all safety precautions in operating a generator.

For more information on staying safe from electrical hazards in any weather, visit SafeElectricity.org.

At a Glance: Benefits of energy storage

Keep appliance thermometers in your fridge and freezer.
Limit the opening of appliance doors.
Use coolers and ice for outages longer than 4 hours.
Never taste food to check safety. When in doubt, throw it out.

Storm season can bring power outages, putting your food at risk of spoiling. You can keep your groceries safe and reduce waste with a little preparation.

Before the storm

Take a few precautions:

Use appliance thermometers in your fridge and freezer. Safe temps: 40 F (fridge), 0 F (freezer).
Freeze water containers to help maintain cold temperatures.
Keep coolers, ice packs or ice ready in case of long outages.
Consider filling plastic containers with water, leaving an inch of space inside each one, to help keep food cold if the power goes out.

Stock up on ready-to-eat foods that don’t need refrigeration including:

Bottled water
Canned goods such as veggies, fruits, beans and tuna.
Don’t forget a manual can opener
Instant mashed potatoes or oatmeal for carbs and energy
Crackers and nuts
Dry cereal and powdered milk

During an outage

In the event of a disaster, it is important to follow a specific sequence for using your available food supply. Start with perishable foods and items from the refrigerator. Following that, turn your attention to the freezer, then begin using nonperishable foods and essential staples.

Losing a fridge full of food is costly, inconvenient and can be dangerous if you’re running low on rations. While you may not be able to save everything, here are ways to preserve food as long as possible:

Keep doors closed. A fridge keeps food safe for up to 4 hours; a full freezer, up to 48 hours.
Use a cooler if the power is out for more than 4 hours. Layer frozen items with fridge foods and ice for a more consistent temperature.
If you don’t have a cooler, you can use your freezer. Put ice in bowls and place them around the food to prevent melting ice from flooding your freezer. Use blankets to insulate the freezer, but ensure that air vents are unobstructed.
Monitor temperatures with a thermometer. Food must stay below 40 F to stay safe.
Never taste food to test safety. If it smells, looks or feels off — throw it out.
Don’t use food that touched floodwater unless it is in waterproof packaging.

After the power returns

Frozen food is safe if it still contains ice crystals or has stayed under 40°F.
Don’t refreeze or cook food that got too warm.
Throw out anything questionable.

Use the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s guide to learn more about foods you can keep or should throw out after a power outage.

Staying prepared can help you avoid illness, waste and added stress during a storm.

Medical Necessity Program

All Fayette Electric Cooperative members count on FEC to provide reliable electric service, but none more than those who rely on life-sustaining electrically powered medical equipment. If this is you or someone who permanently resides at your home, you may be eligible for our Residential Critical Care and Chronic Condition Program.

What is It?

Our Residential Critical Care and Chronic Condition Program is a registry of residential service locations where people rely on life-sustaining electrically powered medical equipment. When planned outages or service interruptions for nonpayment are scheduled, we will make all reasonable efforts to provide advance notice so preparations can be made.

What It is Not

Our Residential Critical Care and Chronic Condition Program does not guarantee priority electric service or priority service restoration, and locations registered in the program are not exempt from planned service interruptions. Registered customers are not exempt from their financial responsibilities to pay timely for electric utility services provided or from potential termination of service under Fayette Electric Cooperative policies.

Who Qualifies?

To qualify, the location must be the permanent residence of someone diagnosed by a physician with one of the following medical conditions:

Chronic Condition: Having been diagnosed by a physician as requiring an electric-powered device (or heating or cooling of the home) to prevent the impairment of major life function. To maintain chronic designation, members must reapply once a year.

Chronic Condition, Lifelong: Same as chronic condition, but does not require annual re-certification or application.

Critical Care: Having been diagnosed by a physician as requiring an electric-powered device to sustain life. To maintain critical care designation, members must reapply once every two years.

Critical Care, Lifelong: Same as critical care, but does not require biennial re-certification or application.

How Do I Apply?

Download the Application

Or request an application by calling Fayette Electric Cooperative at (979)968-3181 or 1-866-968-3181.

You may also pick up an application at FEC’s office located at 2111 N. Von Minden Road, La Grange, TX 78945 and return it in person or by mailing it to FEC’s Member Service Department at PO Box 490, La Grange, TX 78945.

Critical Load

Important Information About Electricity Load Shedding & What it Could Mean to You

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) manages the flow of electric power to more than 26 million Texas customers. ERCOT is responsible for ensuring that the supply of electricity is sufficient to meet system demand (load) for electricity in most of the State.

When electric supply provided by all available power generation plants, (thermal and renewable generation resources) and other sources becomes insufficient to meet the demand, ERCOT begins emergency operations. During a power emergency when electric supply cannot meet consumer demand for electricity and all other operational tools have been exhausted, the demand for electricity must be reduced to avoid uncontrolled blackouts. As a last resort, ERCOT will instruct electric utilities to implement controlled customer outages to reduce the demand for electricity on the ERCOT grid. This is referred to as load shed and will last until the power emergency is resolved by ERCOT.

Typically, before calling for controlled customer outages, ERCOT takes steps to reduce the demand on the electric grid by asking all types of consumers to reduce electric usage. Electric utilities, including Fayette Electric Cooperative (FEC), via the FEC’s ERCOT Transmission Operator, Lower Colorado River Authority Transmission Services Corporation (LCRA TSC), are obligated to immediately implement load shed procedures when ERCOT instructs.

During customer load shed events:

All members should assume their power could go out without advanced warning. Efforts will be made, as much as possible, to provide advanced notification of pending outages, but circumstances do not always allow that to happen.
Members designated as Critical Load, in accordance with PUC guidelines, are not guaranteed an uninterrupted supply of electricity. It is the responsibility of the retail member to make necessary arrangements for alternative sources of electric power should a localized outage or load shed event occur.
Residential members dependent on electric-powered medical equipment, such as those designated as Critical Care or Chronic Condition, in accordance with PUC guidelines, are encouraged to have a solid backup plan in the event they lose electricity. It is important to note that these members are not excluded from controlled outages and may lose power during a load shed event. Anyone who depends on electricity for life-sustaining equipment should have a backup plan in place.
The procedure for a member to apply to be considered a critical care residential account, a critical load industrial account, or critical load according to commission rules can be found here.
Electric utilities will prioritize continuity of service for certain accounts whose service is critical to the community during an emergency or those whose service provides major support to the integrity of the electric system during an emergency. Examples include hospitals and certain public safety accounts.
Because a load shed event is an emergency order from ERCOT based on a shortfall of electricity being generated, electric utilities, including FEC / LCRA TSC, do not have the information to be able to notify individual members if they may lose power, when they may lose power, or how long the load shed event may last.
In extreme power emergencies, ERCOT may require electric utilities to shed large amounts of load over long periods of time. In these instances, electric utilities like FEC / LCRA TSC may not have the ability to rotate outages without risking the stability of the entire electric grid. When this happens, some members may be without power for an extended period of time. These outages are critical for ensuring the integrity of the state’s electric grid and preventing a system-wide blackout, which could be long-lasting and have a significant impact on all aspects of life.
Electric utilities are required to continue to comply with ERCOT-controlled customer outage instructions until ERCOT determines that outages are no longer required.
The Public Utility Commission of Texas website provides examples for members to reduce electricity use at times when involuntary load shedding events may be implemented.
Regardless of the nature of the load shedding event, Fayette Electric Cooperative and the Cooperative’s ERCOT Transmission Operator (LCRA TSC) are committed to ensuring the safe and reliable delivery of electricity to its members 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. While we may not control the issues or conditions that have required ERCOT’s order to shed load, we will do everything in our power to restore electricity when we are able to safely do so. In addition, we will work to keep our members informed about the situation through local media outlets, social media, and direct communications to you.

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