Power surges in Choctaw-Nicoma Park have residents frustrated, fearful

CHOCTAW-NICOMA PARK, Okla. (KFOR) — Surging power is causing frustration in the Choctaw-Nicoma Park area. Several families emailed News 4 saying they experienced more than a dozen power surges in a day.

Jodi Duncan needs several medical devices to take care of her daughter, and worries all the surges will damage them. If the equipment goes out, that means the family has to rush to the hospital.

"You're going to mess up my daughter's equipment," said Duncan.

Duncan's daughter, Aubree, was born with an incurable and rare genetic mutation. Along with the many issues, the five-year-old is on oxygen, a heart monitor, and needs a suction machine because her muscles are too weak to swallow and cough.

Duncan has to be ready at a moments notice to tend to her child.

"When she wakes up hot, she's like 'I am not okay,'" said Duncan.

The air conditioning and medical equipment are literally lifesavers.

"When it kicks off and comes back on, there's a chance, even with a surge protector, that it could blow," said Duncan.

Her neighbors on social media agree, including Christina Penn, who said the surges have been going on for a month.

"At least we'd have five or six every single day," said Penn.

Penn said the previous surges fried parts of her AC unit, which was an expensive fix.

"Almost $400," said Penn.

This weekend's energy spikes brought on anxiety.

"They take a few seconds to reboot and then it wouldn't reboot. That 45 minutes I was in agony. I was terrified," said Penn. "I know a lot of people were recommending getting surge protectors put our units, but that's anywhere from ($200) to $600."

Meanwhile, Duncan said she reported the surges to OG&E. She said they told her they're aware of the issues.

"You'd think they would have some type of way to see this whole area had issues over the weekend," said Duncan. "Can you guys come check the equipment in this area?"

With temperatures only rising, Duncan and Penn fear for the rest of summer.

"I think instead of doing the price increase, they need to help the community out, especially with it being triple digits already," said Penn.

Penn was referring to OG&E announcing customers will soon pay nearly a 7% increase. For the average customer, this increase boils down to just over $9.50 more a month.

OG&E sent News 4 the following statement regarding the power surges.

Our team monitors the overall health and performance of the electric grid around the clock, ensuring the reliability and stability of our service. We also value feedback from our customers and appreciate when they report any disturbances, whether it be a brief interruption, a short outage, or a longer outage.

During the recent extreme heat conditions, our circuit breaker tripped which may have caused a momentary disruption in service. Our control center acted promptly to reroute power and resolve the issue efficiently. We understand the importance of uninterrupted service and are committed to providing reliable electricity to all of our customers.

OG&E