Northern Lights is a rural electric cooperative maintaining 2,600 miles of distribution line and encompassing some of the most rugged terrain in northern Idaho and western Montana. While we strive to keep continuous, dependable electric power available, periodic power outages do occur. Before your power goes out, consider the information below on medical equipment and backup generators. When a power failure occurs, please follow these steps:

1. Check your fuses and circuit breakers to be sure the trouble is not in your electrical system. Always keep extra fuses --both screw and cartridge types-- on hand. You can either replace the fuse or reset the breaker. However, you should note that a blown fuse or tripped breaker is a warning that you have either a defective appliance or overloaded wiring. For repair beyond the meter, you need to call either an electrician or appliance repairman. State laws prohibit Northern Lights, Inc. from working on the member's side of the meter. This is the member's responsibility.

2. If you find that your fuses are OK, check with neighbors to see if they have electric service. Call our office as soon as you can so that crews may begin to work on restoring power. If the outage is widespread, our telephone lines will often be busy. Be patient and keep trying. Our crews will keep working until all service is restored. In Sandpoint call 263-5141; out of Sandpoint call 1-800-326-9594. Tune to the local radio station for information on widespread outages. It is helpful to have a battery-powered radio and a flashlight on hand. While the electricity is off, keep the refrigerator and freezer closed. Food normally can keep for at least 24 hours. 

3. When reporting an outage, please give your name, account number and phone number. For convenience, record your account number in the space provided inside the cover of this book and keep it near your phone.


An Important Notice for Those Dependent on Medical Equipment

If you depend on electrically operated medical equipment for life support, notify us now so that we can add you to our emergency phone number list. We will put you on a special calling list so we can make every effort to notify you of all scheduled outages and when possible, let you know how long we expect power to be out. As a precaution, have a stand-by generator available.

A Warning About Back-up Generators

Northern Lights has an important message for members who use electrical generators. Generators without the proper type of interlocking switch can backfeed electricity through the service wire and Northern Light's transformer, thus energizing a "dead" power line. The "backfeed" produced by a generator could result in the serious injury or even the death of one of our lineman.

If you feel you must operate your own generator for emergency situations, please call Northern Lights at 208/263-5141 in the Sandpoint area or 800-326-9594 outside of the Sandpoint area and talk to the line superintendent. Your call could prevent a tragedy.