Dec 28 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Josh Rabe The Oklahoman

Every day Katherine Gordon looks at the massive tree tangled in a live power line in her yard in rural Newalla and worries her home will catch fire.

Each passing breeze moves the branches and rubs the insulation closer to the live wire inside, and all she can do is watch.

Gordon is among an unknown number of Oklahomans who still have damage to their utility service connection more than two weeks after an ice storm caused record-setting power outages.

Gordon has electricity for now, but she will have to wait at least until Saturday for an electrician to come to her home.

Gordon called a hot line set up by Oklahoma City and state emergency management officials to pay for electrical repairs after the ice storm. She also called 211, the utility company, the governor's office and even the White House looking for assistance, which apparently isn't coming.

Was bad advice given?

Hundreds of residents in suburbs surrounding Oklahoma City and Tulsa were initially told to call those hot lines, but they won't be receiving any help.

"We're just getting so many calls at the action center," said Kristy Yager, Oklahoma City spokeswoman.

The city is only paying for repairs for Oklahoma City residents, not anyone in smaller cities that lie within its borders or in the outlying areas, Yager explained.

The city has received about 2,400 requests, but officials don't know how many came from residents in other cities, Yager said. Of those, 605 have been repaired.

A similar program in Tulsa only applies to residents of that city, said Bob Bledsoe, a Tulsa spokesman.

"We've been getting calls from hundreds of citizens who couldn't get electric service," Bledsoe said. Not all of them live in Tulsa.

As of Thursday, similar programs were being offered in Choctaw, Del City, Edmond, Harrah, Midwest City, Moore and The Village, said Michelann Ooten, spokeswoman for the state Department of Emergency Management.

Ooten said she wasn't aware of any other cities offering the service, which could mean residents like Gordon have to bear the cost on their own repairs.

Gordon said she was able to reach her insurance company for the first time Thursday afternoon and was given a $1,900 estimate for the damage. Gordon worries whether she will be able to afford the repairs.

She'll be reimbursed for all but a $500 deductible, but she won't get a check from the insurance company for two weeks, she said.

Customer reports persist

In Oklahoma City and Tulsa, which were the first cities to launch the free repair service, calls for help continued at a steady pace Thursday.

Oklahoma Gas and Electric responded to about 75 requests for power to be reconnected Thursday where repairs had been completed, said Gil Broyles, company spokesman. Broyles said he expects that pace to continue for several more days.

Ed Bettinger, spokesman for Public Service Company of Oklahoma, said the utility company can no longer detect which homes are without power. Its transmission lines all appear to be functioning normally, so the company has to rely on each customer to report whether they are without power, leaving the remaining number of outages a mystery.