Have a power outage? Check your service first. 

It doesn't happen often, but when it does you should know the correct procedure. If your power goes off:

  • Check fuses or circuit breakers on your home or outside disconnect. See instructions below for how to reset your home breakers.
  • Check if a neighbor's power is off.
  • Call the Bluestem office to report the outage.
  • Turn off all appliances, heating or cooling systems, lights, etc.
  • Gradually turn theses items on when the power comes back on.

When reporting the outage, give the Bluestem dispatcher the name of the service as it appears on your monthly bill and your telephone number. If you have additional information about the cause of the outage, tell the dispatcher when you call. Representatives are available 24 hours a day for your convenience in reporting power outage, power line problems, and emergencies only. All other inquiries should be during normal office hours 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

How to Check Power, Change a Fuse, or Reset a Breaker

  1. If there is no power anywhere in the home, first check to see if you have a main breaker underneath the meter.  If open or in the OFF position, push as far to the OFF position as possible, then push to the ON position.
  2. If there still is no power, go to the main breaker in the house or building and repeat same procedure as performed at the meter.
  3. If this does not restore power, call Bluestem.
  4. In the event of a partial power loss in the home and there is a breaker that is tripped, repeat the steps listed above for main breaker.

In the event of a blown fuse:

  1. First disconnect lamps and appliances in use when the circuit went out. 
  2. Secondly, open the main breaker, switch or pull-out the section of panel labeled "Main" in the service entrance to cut off current while working at the branch circuit box.
  3. Identify the blown fuse.  When a fuse blows, the transparent section becomes cloudy, or blackend.
  4. Replace the blown fuse with a new one of proper size.  The smaller sizes screw in and out just like light bulbs.
  5. Close the main switch or replace pull-out section to restore service
  6. Throw away the blown fuse.
  7. If this does not correct the problem, call an electrician.

How to reset a Circuit Breaker

  1. Move handle to OFF position
  2. Push handle past OFF position to reset.
  3. Return handle to ON position.

Restoration of Service During a Major Outage

Please be patient.  During a major outage, Bluestem employees will be working to restore power as soon as possible.

Power will be restored in the following order:

  1. Substations
  2. Transmission lines
  3. Three-phase primary feeder lines
  4. Single-phase primary feeder lines

Special attention will be given to:

  • Persons on life support systems. If you or a member of your family requires special breathing or health equipment, please notify Bluestem.  Your name and location will be included in our "Medical Alert Listing."  
  • Critical farming operations
  • Fire stations or other public building in use for emergencies