As potentially severe winter weather approaches the Ark-La-Tex this weekend, Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO) encourages customers to be prepared should power outages occur.

“Snow and ice can cause problems for the electric system because their weight brings down trees and power lines, and snow- or ice-covered roads slow our ability to get to the damaged poles, transformers and wires,” said Drew Seidel, SWEPCO vice president of Region Distribution Operations. “In addition, contin...