Runestone Electric Association

06/17/2026

2:25 PM: Power has been restored at our Le Homme Dieu Substation! 🥳 Please call the office at 1-800-473-1722 if you are still without power.
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We are experiencing an outage at our Le Homme Dieu Substation. This substation serves areas north and east of Alexandria. We have crews responding who will work with our power supplier, Great River Energy, to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. To report your outage, please call 800-473-1722. Thank you for your patience.

06/12/2026

11:00 AM, Friday, 6/12/2026:

Power has been restored! 🥳 Please call the office at 1-800-473-1722 if you are still without power.

10:45 AM, Friday, 6/12/2026:

We are currently experiencing an outage affecting multiple substations in the southwest portion of our service territory. The outage is due to a transmission issue affecting the substations that serve this area.

We're working closely with our power supplier to resolve the issue and restore service as quickly as possible.

If you are without power, please call 1-800-473-1722 to report your outage.

06/12/2026

6:00 AM Friday, 6/12/2026

Our line crews worked into the evening, and by midnight, power was restored to all REA members! Although power has been restored, repair work on power poles and power lines will continue today and into the coming weeks.

If you are still without power, or know someone who is, please call us at 1-800-473-1722. Do not assume we know you are without power.

We are so thankful for the crews from ALP Utilities in Alexandria, Lake Region Electric Cooperative in Pelican Rapids, and Traverse Electric Cooperative Inc., who helped restore everyone’s power.

It has been a really long couple of days for many people, and REA thanks everyone for their help and patience.

Again, if you are still without power, or know someone who is, please call us at 1-800-473-1722.

Have a good weekend!

06/11/2026

4:00 PM Thursday, 6/11/2026:

Crews have been working since early this morning, and we are now in the final phases of restoring power to all members. Restoration efforts will continue throughout the night until outages are resolved.

Our crews continue to work alongside crews from ALP Utilities, Lake Region Electric Cooperative, and Traverse Electric Cooperative Inc.

A few important reminders:
• Always assume a downed power line is energized and stay far away from it.
• The same goes for trees that have fallen onto power lines. Do not attempt to remove, trim, or cut trees that are in contact with power lines.
• If you are still without power, please call 1-800-473-1722. Please don’t assume we are aware of your specific outage.

We understand that being without power is a major inconvenience, and we sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding as our crews work safely and as quickly as possible to restore service.

06/11/2026

12:30 P.M. Thursday, 6/11/2026:

Outage restoration efforts are still going strong! Our crews continue to work alongside mutual aid crews from ALP Utilities, Lake Region Electric Cooperative, and Traverse Electric Cooperative Inc..

We estimate that approximately 2,000 members remain without power. While we still have significant work ahead of us, we are making steady progress and appreciate your continued patience as crews work through repairs.

Many members have asked why restoration is taking time, so we wanted to share a little insight into what our crews are facing:

1️⃣ The outages are widespread

The storm came through with a vengeance, leaving damage across nearly our entire service territory—from Elbow Lake to Cyrus to Miltona and many areas in between. With so much damage spread over such a large area, crews must work through repairs one outage at a time.

2️⃣The damage is complex and time-consuming to repair

Every outage is its own puzzle. Before repairs can begin, crews must assess the damage, develop a plan, and safely make repairs. Many outage locations involve multiple issues, including broken equipment, trees on power lines, downed wire, and broken poles.

To put things into perspective, replacing a single broken pole can take two hours or more. While the work is often slow and meticulous, our crews are working efficiently and safely to restore power as quickly as possible.

We know it may be tempting to clear trees that have fallen on power lines, but please stay away from all power lines and electrical equipment. Never attempt to move a downed line. With restoration efforts ongoing, a line that appears de-energized may become energized at any time. Our rule of thumb is simple: if a line is down, it is dangerous.

We have been overwhelmed by the kindness, patience, and support shown by our members throughout this event. It has been approximately 34 hours since the first outage calls came in, and we understand how difficult and frustrating extended outages can be for those still without power.

If you are still without power, please call 1-800-473-1722. Never assume we are already aware of your specific outage.

06/11/2026

ALP Utilities is our closest utility neighbor, and we can always count on them to show up when we need them most. We are grateful for their assistance as we continue restoration efforts across our service territory.

Partnerships like this remind us that restoring power is truly a team effort. Thank you to the ALP crews for lending a hand and helping us serve our members following this week's storm. We appreciate your hard work and support!

We're proud to support our friends at Runestone Electric Association as they continue restoration efforts following Tuesday night's storm.

Utilities helping utilities is one of the things that makes our industry special. When the community needs a hand, crews step up and work together to help get the power back on safely.

Thanks to everyone out in the field.

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06/11/2026

We’re incredibly grateful for the support of our co-op neighbors as we continue restoration efforts. Mutual aid is a great example of the cooperative spirit in action, and we're thankful for the crews who have stepped up to help our members when they need it most.

We’re also excited to welcome a familiar face back to REA! Kolby spent several summers working with us as summer help, and it’s great to have him back on our system—this time helping restore power following the storm. Thank you to Kolby, Tristan, Joe, Heath for lending a hand.

Today we sent Tristan, Joe, Kolby and Heath to help Runestone Electric Association with storm recovery. Runestone has an estimated 3,000 accounts who remain without power. They will be clearing trees, replacing broken poles and repairing damaged power lines.

This is an example of Cooperative Principle #6:
By working together through local, national, regional and international structures, cooperatives improve services, bolster local economies, and deal more effectively with social and community needs.

06/11/2026

6:00 AM, Thursday, 6/11/2026:

Our crews are back at it bright and early this morning, joined by utility crews from ALP Utilities, Lake Region Electric Cooperative and Traverse Electric Cooperative. We are grateful for their assistance as restoration efforts continue across our service territory.

We estimate around 3,000 accounts remain without power.

Today, crews will continue clearing trees, replacing broken poles, and repairing damaged power lines. While this is time-consuming work, progress is being made, and every repair brings more members back online.

As a reminder, always assume a downed power line is energized and stay well away from it. The same goes for trees that have fallen onto power lines. Please do not attempt to remove, trim, or cut trees that are in contact with power lines. If you see a downed line, report it immediately and keep others away from the area.

We know this has been a challenging time for members who remain without power, and we sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding. We will be working throughout the day to restore power to every member affected by this storm as safely and quickly as possible. We will continue to provide updates as restoration efforts progress.

If you are still without power and have not yet reported your outage, please call 1-800-473-1722. Never assume we are already aware of your specific outage.

06/11/2026

10:00 PM, Wednesday, 6/10/2026: Our crews have been working since the first outages were reported around 2:00 AM this morning. After a long day of storm restoration efforts, most crews have been pulled in for a few hours of much-needed rest so they can return safely and continue restoration work early tomorrow morning. A small crew will remain on duty overnight to respond to emergencies and address critical issues as they arise.

We estimate that 3,000 accounts remain without power. While significant progress has been made today, extensive storm damage, including downed trees, power lines, and broken poles, continues to make restoration a challenging and time-consuming process.

Tomorrow morning, our crews will be back at work in full force, joined by additional crews from neighboring utilities to help accelerate restoration efforts.

As a reminder, always assume a downed power line is energized and stay well away from it. The same goes for trees that have fallen onto power lines. Please do not attempt to remove, trim, or cut trees that are in contact with power lines. If you see a downed line, report it immediately and keep others away from the area.

If you are still without power and have not yet reported your outage, please give us a call at 1-800-473-1722. Never assume we are already aware of your specific outage.

We know many of you have been without power for a long time, and we sincerely appreciate your patience, understanding, and encouragement throughout the day. The kindness shown to our entire team—from our line crews in the field to our office staff answering phones and messages—means more than you know. We are committed to restoring power as safely and quickly as possible, and we will continue to provide updates as restoration efforts progress.

06/10/2026

5:15 PM, Wednesday, 6/10/2026: We are aware that many members are still without power, and crews continue to make steady progress on repairs. However, widespread storm damage, including fallen trees, broken poles, and downed lines, has made restoration a slow and challenging process.

We estimate that more than 3,300 accounts are still experiencing outages.

We now have crews from our neighbors at ALP Utilities assisting with restoration efforts, and additional mutual aid crews from fellow cooperatives are on the way.

As for restoration efforts, our crews will continue working until dark tonight. Overnight, a smaller crew will remain on duty to respond to emergencies. If your power has not been restored by dark, restoration in your area will continue tomorrow.

A few important reminders:
- Always assume a downed power line is energized and stay far away from it.
- The same goes for trees that have fallen onto power lines. Do not attempt to remove, trim, or cut trees that are in contact with power lines.
- If you are still without power and have not yet reported your outage, please call us. Do not assume we are aware of every outage.

We understand that being without power is a major inconvenience, and we sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding as our crews work safely and as quickly as possible to restore service.