Reporting Outages

Calls made to Minnesota Valley before 8:00 am or after 4:30 pm and on weekends or holidays are answered by the Cooperative Response Center (CRC) in Austin, MN. Any outage calls received by them will be dispatched to our line crew on call.

Outage Information

Please view the information below about what to check before you call to report an outage.

  • Check your fuses or circuit breakers. If crews are dispatched and the outage is a result of a problem on your side of the meter, you will be charged $100 during working hours and $150 for after-hours calls.
  • Check with your neighbors to see if their lights are also out.
  • Call Minnesota Valley at: 320.269.2163 or 1.800.247.5051. Be able to provide your LOCATION NUMBER when reporting an outage. If your call is answered by a recording, select the option for reporting an outage. The answering service equipment can read your phone number as you call in (similar to Caller I.D.). This helps shorten the outage reporting process by matching your phone number to your member account.

If you are not at the location experiencing the power outage, please be sure to relay that information. However, if the call is answered by an employee, the only way we can respond to your call is by knowing who you are and where you are located. Your location number is printed on your monthly bill, so it would be a good idea to write it down near your phone.

Power will be restored as quickly as possible and we will remain on the job until all services are back in operation. If you find that your neighbors who are on your line have had their electricity restored and you have not, please call to let us know. Sometimes outages can be individual as well as an entire line. Please report anything that might be helpful to our crews; such as lights blinking before they went out, lines down, poles down, sparks on a pole, trees in the lines and so on.

  • Stay away from downed power lines. Only trained linemen can safely handle power lines.
  • If you are experiencing low voltage (a brownout) unplug anything with a motor including refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, TVs and DVD players.
  • During a major outage, turn on your battery operated radio for news concerning the outage and weather. We will usually broadcast messages concerning outages on KDMA (AM1460) or KMGM (FM105.5) in Montevideo, KQIC (FM102.5) or KDJS (FM95.3) in Willmar, KMHL (AM1420) or KKCK (FM101.7) in Marshall and KLQP (FM92.1) in Madison.
  • Keep emergency supplies handy. Items to have on hand include candles, matches, blankets, flashlight and radio with fresh batteries.
  • Leave a light on so you will know when electricity is restored.