By GARETT VALCOURT
Severe weather that moved through the Panhandle on Wednesday left thousands without power, but crews with West Florida Electric Cooperative (WFEC) worked through the night to restore service.
According to Candace Croft, Communications and Public Relations Coordinator for WFEC, the cooperative reported a total of 3,830 outages across four counties as of 6:19 p.m. Wednesday evening. Holmes and Washington counties were the most affected, with 1,985 outages in Holmes County and 512 in Washington County. The remaining outages occurred in Jackson and Calhoun counties.
The majority of service disruptions were attributed to downed trees, fallen limbs, high winds, and lightning. Despite the widespread impact, WFEC restored power to all affected members by 4:15 a.m. Thursday.
“We will get everything up as quickly and safely as we can,” said Croft. “We cannot predict the weather, but we can assure the public that our team is on standby and ready to serve to ensure they are up.”
With additional storms forecasted for today and into the weekend, WFEC is urging customers to report any future outages through their designated channels rather than on social media. Members can notify the cooperative of service interruptions through several methods:
- Text Reporting: First, text “WFEC” to 800-342-7400, then reply with “OUT” to report an outage.
- Online: Visit www.westflorida.coop and click on the “Outage Centre” to report issues and track the status of restorations.
- Phone: Call the automated outage reporting system at 844-688-2431.
WFEC also recommends following the progress of restoration efforts via their real-time outage map available on their website.
Residents are encouraged to stay weather-aware and prepared as the region continues to experience storm activity in the coming days.
CAROL KENT SMITH 
Staff Report 