OG&E And AAA Prepare As Winter Weather Heads Into Oklahoma

With that winter weather expected to sweep through the state, metro crews are already preparing for the wintry conditions.  

Within a two-day stretch, the state will see temperatures close to 70 degrees, to freezing temperatures. The quick turnaround isn’t unusual, but difficult for many. 

"We always expect everyone to check road conditions before traveling, have an emergency kit in their vehicle," said Trisha Koelsch, with OG&E. "Make sure that all of their devices are fully charged if possible." 

Last February, Oklahoma saw one of its biggest snowstorms as hundreds were left in the dark because of power outages. However, officials with OG&E say they have a plan to implement smart communication technology into their power grid. 

"Say one neighborhood loses power, but it can be re-routed to be fed to another line from another neighborhood, if the neighborhoods are connected, then we can re-route the power and no one would see the outage," said Koelsch. "Or they would have a blink of an outage instead of a longer standing outage." 

OG&E says these updates were placed in Arkansas and they’re already seeing shorter disruptions and outages there and they’re optimistic for the same outcome here in Oklahoma. 

It’s not just these outages winter conditions effect, but also our vehicles. 

"I just got another 150 batteries in stock this morning," said Jason Cravens, with AAA. "We’re hoping to have a battery for everyone who needs one." 

AAA says one of their fleets already got its weekly delivery of batteries to prepare for the week. They warn drivers that if they’re having any issues with their batteries, they need to get it looked out now before the weather rolls in. 

"The battery is the entire power source for your car," said Cravens. "It’s not going to start without one, and unfortunately batteries can be finicky, they don’t like extreme weather. 

You can contact AAA or OG&E at the numbers below. 

AAA: 1 (800) 222-4357 

OG&E: 800-522-6870