ECLIPSE PREPARATION
Pedernales Electric Cooperative is committed to delivering safe, reliable power to its members and communities. As the Texas Hill Country awaits the upcoming total solar eclipse, April 8, hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected to watch the event throughout PEC’s service territory. PEC, which services 13,000 meters in the 78666 zipcode, is prepared to continue serving its members and lineworker crews are ready to respond to outages during this time.
“Over the past two years, we’ve sat on task forces and have worked closely with local officials across our service territory,” said Eddie Dauterive PEC Chief Operations Officer. “With the influx of people on the roads, we ask everyone to be mindful of our crews so we can easily get in and out of the areas that we need to service.” For safety, PEC wants to remind eclipse spectators to watch the road closely and to move over and slow down when its vehicles and bucket trucks are pulled over with flashing lights. Per Texas law, drivers must move out of the lane closest to the utility vehicle when possible or slow down to 20 miles per hour below the posted speed limit.
While PEC does its best to restore power outages as quickly and safely as possible, members should keep in mind that high traffic volumes could increase response times. The fastest way for members to report their outage is by texting PEC at 25022 from the number associated with their account. If a member reports their outage by text, they should receive a confirmation text from PEC that it has been reported. Members can also conveniently report an outage online at map.pec. coop, or by calling PEC’s outage reporting line at 888-883-3379.
To commemorate this special event and support its members and communities, PEC donated and distributed hundreds of solar eclipse glasses to area senior centers.
“As people from across the world come here to experience the magic of the Texas Hill Country and the eclipse, we’re proud to play an important role in this special occasion,” Dauterive said. “We hope that everyone will do their part to have a safe and memorable time.”
