In the rare instance of a Fall River Electric (FRE) outage, members are encouraged to call our toll free outage phone line at (800) 632-5726 which is available 24 hours per day, seven days a week. This ensures that your outage will be taken care of as quickly and safely as possible. 

FRE also employs the use of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) meters which transmit outage notifications from your meter down our power lines. However, AMI reports are only available during normal office hours, so the best way is to make that phone call. 

1. First check your circuit breakers or fuses, making sure none have tripped or blown.

2. Try resetting your breakers by switching them OFF then ON.

3. Call or look at neighboring homes to see if other homes in your area have power. This helps us pinpoint the cause of the outage. 

4. Call the outage hotline at (800) 632-5726. Make sure you have the name on your account, your account number or meter number and the correct service address to ensure the fastest response possible. Also, let us know if you heard or saw anything such as sparks, loud noises, or trees or limbs on the power lines. You can also report a power outage on your smartphone if you have downloaded Fall River Electric's free app "My FR App". 

Turn off major appliances. The water heater and heating system breakers need to be turned off to avoid overloading your circuits when the power is restored. Unplug any voltage-sensitive equipment, like computers or televisions. If the outage has occurred at night, switch on an outside light. This may assist our crews in determining whether your power has been restored. 

Keep your refrigerator and freezer doors closed. Food in a refrigerator will last 12 to 24 hours if the doors are kept closed. A full freezer can last 24 to 48 hours. 

FRE line crews follow several steps to determine where the outage problem exists. First, they check main high voltage transmission lines that feed thousands of members, then they inspect substations, followed by distribution lines and finally service lines to your home. In most cases, smart grid technology is used to predict the outage location. Their responsibility is to restore power to as many members as possible as quickly and safely as possible. 

During a power outage event, line crews may face multiple factors that can affect the time and equipment it takes to identify the problems and make the necessary repairs. Members are encouraged to follow FRE's social media Facebook page for major outage information and expected timelines. 

FRE maintains a list of members who have special medical equipment or medical needs that electricity is needed to operate properly. In case of an extended power outage, members with those needs are encouraged to have an emergency plan such as relocating to an alternative location or installing backup generation or battery backup power. If you or a member you know of has a critical need for electricity, please make sure FRE is notified in advance so they can be added to our special needs list. 

Yes, of course that is an excellent option and we encourage members to have one properly installed, click here for more information. However, a generator which is not connected properly to your home through a transfer switch can be very dangerous. Using a generator incorrectly can lead to these situations: 

1. Carbon monoxide poisoning from engine exhaust which you can not smell. To be safe, install inexpensive batter powered carbon monoxide alarms throughout your home. 

2. Electric shock or even electrocution which can result in death. 

3. Fire.