Did you know that you can assist Gulf Coast Electric Cooperative personnel with the power restoration process? How? By making sure all of your account information is up-to-date. Make sure you update phone numbers, addresses and other information by completing the form below.
Having the correct phone number listed on your account is very important to our outage restoration efforts. If the automated system answers your call, enter the number listed on your account – your cell or land line. If you call from a different number, the system won’t recognize your location, impairing our response time as its relates to your needs.
After hours, the cooperative uses its automated Power Outage Response Call Handle Equipment or PORCHE system. Our automated system is capable of answering up to 96 calls at once and can call back some 30 residences at a single point in time to verify that your power has indeed been restored. The PORCHE system is easy to use and guides you through the outage reporting process. Information can be entered into the system using a touchtone phone or by speaking answers to the system prompts. If circumstances permit, a live operator can be accessed by staying on the line. During a multiple outage situation, the PORCHE provides callers with a recorded list of areas where crews have been dispatched.
It is important to allow sufficient time for repairs to occur before calling GCEC to report an outage again, especially during major weather events like tropical storms or hurricanes. GCEC employees work hard to restore electric service to our members as quickly and as safely as possible, but some repairs may take a lot of time, especially if debris hinders their work.
During outages that follow severe storms, repairs are made in a sequence that will restore service to the greatest number of members in the least amount of time. Working out from the substations, line crews concentrate on repairing the three-phase feeder lines (main lines) leading from the substations first. The closer a home is to a substation, the sooner power will be restored to that home. Next, the first sets of breakers on a section of line are fixed. Each section is then energized before crews move on to the next set of breakers while gradually working out to the single-phase taps.
In order to ensure that we have your correct information on file, we ask that you complete the form below. We’ll make sure that the information on your account is correct so that we may restore your power as quickly as possible when power outages occur. In appreciation of your time, all members who complete the form on this page will be entered into a drawing for a $100 bill credit! But hurry – although we encourage you to update your contact information with us anytime there is a change, those members who do so by December 31, 2021 will be entered into the drawing. The winner will be announced in January 2022.