Norris restores power to almost all customers after worst winter storm damage since ‘76

SEWARD, Neb. (KLKN) – Almost a week after winter weather swept across Nebraska, Norris Public Power District crews were still working Monday to get powerlines back up and running.

“It’s difficult when you have a situation like this,” CEO and general manager Bruce Vitosh said. “This particular storm event I’m going to say is probably the most severe damage we’ve had from a winter storm since the big storm we had back in 1976.”

At the height of the outage, the company said around 60% of its customers were without electricity.

By 7:15 p.m. Monday, crews finally got that number down to about 3%.

SEE ALSO: Gov. Pillen declares emergency in 24 Nebraska counties after blizzard

Linemen are working 16-hour shifts, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Vitosh said although it has been tough, they are committed to getting everyone’s lights back on.

“Lineman crews are doing excellent, they’re doing a great job,” he said. “They really do care about our customers; they’re in it to make sure we get the power on, first of all, as safely as we can, but also as quickly as possible.”

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He said the community has played a big role in getting the job done.

“It’s so great to have so many people supporting us,” Vitosh said. “Overwhelmingly, the response has been very supportive of all the employees here at Norris. We really do appreciate that. We have great people that live here in southeast Nebraska. They really are so supportive of us.”

Vitosh said they plan to restore power to all residential customers in Lancaster County by the end of Monday, with significant progress also being made in Seward and Saline counties.

SEE ALSO: Over 11,000 without power in six southeast Nebraska counties, officials say