In the utility business, we know rough weather will occur, and sometimes power outages simply can't be avoided. But did you know there is one big step you can take to ensure your electricity is restored as quickly and safely as possible? By keeping your contact information up to date, you can take full advantage of the services Santee Electric Cooperative offers.

If we don't have the correct phone number linked to your home address, it makes it much more difficult for you to report an outage.

Remember when you had to speak to a member service representative in order to report a power outage? Waiting on hold could be frustrating and time consuming. Today, with the press of a button, you can easily report an outage. At Santee Electric Cooperative, we use the phone number you provide to link your service address to our outage management system. For example, if you call us to report an outage, our automated system instantly recognizes your phone number and can determine the particular service address from which you are reporting an outage. Once you give our system a response, your outage is reported. It's that simple! But remember -this only works if your current phone number is linked to your service address.

Updating your contact information is helpful because it also speeds up the power restoration process. With correct information, our outage management system can predict the location and the possible cause of an outage, making it easier for our crews to correct the problem.

We know cell phone numbers change quite often, so call 1-800-922-1604 or go to www.santee.organd sign in to your account to update your phone number.