Georgia Power Releases New Online Outage Map

OLD FOURTH WARD — Georgia Power Co. recently launched an online outage map that allows customers to track power outages in their communities and across the state.  Through the new system, customers will be able to check the outage status of individual addresses and communities not only during major storms but also on a daily basis.

“It’s designed to provide up to date information on outages for all of our customers around the state,” John Zumbado, the company's senior engineer in distribution, said. 

Customers can also use the map to report outages and to track the status of their outage reports instead of calling in to customer service or tweeting at Georgia Power.

“They can get estimated restoration times, when we believe, based on our assessment of the problem, we can have the power back on,” Zumbado said. 

For those who are without power, the outage map can also be accessed from mobile devices by typing in the web address.

Aaron Strickland is the Distribution Manager of Emergency Operations for Georgia Power.  He leads up the Storm Center, which is staffed during and prior to storms hitting Georgia. 

Recent storms have allowed Georgia Power to test the new outage map.

“We go through a critique every time- how can I better do these things and we’ve got a long list after that last one, it was so intense and so severe,” Strickland said, referring to the severe storm that left many in Atlanta without power in June.    

He says customer calls help the Storm Center keep track of power outages, fallen trees and other safety concerns.

“We get a lot of information from our customers, they’re able to call into the customer care center, they can tell us their power is out, is there a tree down, that helps us tremendously,” Strickland said.    

The site was launched in June and has been used for major storms that hit Atlanta in the past few weeks.

“This past storm we had, it was so intense, we had a tremendous impact from the roads in Atlanta,” Strickland said. 

Strickland says that the best way to report outages is still through the customer call center but the site can be used to track the restoration and to check on other Atlanta areas during storms and on a daily basis. 

The online outage map can be accessed at outagemap.georgiapower.com.