The unseasonal derecho that tore through the sate of Iowa on December 15, 2021 was not the first time Prairie energy employees have dealt with a winter storm, but it was the first time your cooperative has set a record for number of outages. 
     "Out of 5,200 total meters on Prairie's lines, at the peak of damage almost 40 percent were without power. That's around 2,099 meters across our 4,200 members," said CEO Tim Marienau. "These members included residential houses but also ag businesses like poultry and hog facilities and large co-ops like Gold Eagle and NEW Cooperative. The areas around Vincent, Duncombe, Stratford, Lehigh, Belmond, and Lake Cornelia were the hardest hit, but we had outages and damages system wise. The substations in these areas were the hardest hit as well. Corn Belt lost miles upon miles of transmission lines."
     Restoration efforts began as the storm dissipated the night of December 15th, and reports of outages and damages came rolling into the office that continued throughout the night into the following days. Prairie Energy crews worked nonstop to restore power to all members along with aid from Legacy Power Line and Highline Construction, both out of Minnesota. Final restorations were completed around 7 p.m. on Friday, December 17th. 
     "The employees of Prairie are a dedicated group when faced with a storm of this magnitude. They roll up their sleeves and restore power as safely and as quickly as possible. The members of Prairie Energy should be proud of the effort put forth by their dependable linemen and staff," said Butch Norem, Director of Operations/Engineering. 
     The employees and board of Prairie Energy would like to thank the membership for their patience and understanding during the December derecho.