New Outage Management System in use

A new state-of-the-art Outage Management System is in use at Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation. This software-driven program is designed to allow utility crews to more rapidly restore electrical service to your home or business whenever an outage is reported to the CEMC control center.

When you dial CEMC’s toll-free outage number, 1-800-987-2362, you will first be asked to identify yourself using any one of three numbers found on your most current electric bill –

By referring to this sample bill you will see the three important numbers that can be used to identify you if you ever need to call and report an outage or other electrical problem. Only one of these numbers is needed for our automated system to help you: your account number, primary telephone number or your meter number. You do not need to report all three numbers.

(1) your account number, (2) your primary telephone number or, (3) your meter number. (Refer to the image below for the location of these numbers on your bill.) You will then be prompted to give the reason for your call using the numbers on your touchtone phone. You will:

• Press 0 for “No Power”;

• Press 1 for “Partial Power”;

• Press 2 for “Flickering Lights”;

• Press 3 for “High Voltage”;

• Press 4 for “Low Voltage”; or,

• Press 5 for “Report Hazard Only.”

If you are calling to report a hazard, you will be prompted to identify the type of hazard using your touchtone phone. You will:

• Press 1 for “Wires Down”;

• Press 2 for “Trees on Wires”;

• Press 3 for “Car Hit Pole”;

• Press 4 for “Broken Pole”;

• Press 5 for “Dig In”; or,

• Press 6 for “Transformer Fire.”

This will help CEMC more accurately dispatch repair crews to the scene of the outage, and get your power back on faster. To help us do this, it is a good idea to write down your account number, your primary telephone number and your meter number, or keep your most recent electric bill handy in the event of an emergency.

CEMC is committed to responding to and repairing all outage calls as quickly as possible. With our new Outage Management System and your help, we believe this is an attainable goal.