Meridian and Lauderdale County residents may experience temporary power outages in the next several days, but it’s all for good reasons, according to representatives from Mississippi Power Company and East Mississippi Electric Power Association (EMEPA).

    “Customers should receive advanced notice in the mail about the outages,” EMEPA’s Communication Manager Julie Boles said.

    In early spring, EMEPA customers experienced brief outages due to the company’s crewmen going to homes in their service area for minor maintenance.

    “We’re putting in new meters,” Boles said. “These new advanced meters will allow for better efficiency and more reliability.”

    With the new meters, EMEPA will know instantly when a home or neighborhood loses power without receiving a phone call, she said. The new technology will provide detailed information which, according to Boles, will empower members to control their overall energy cost.

    The maintenance should cease at the end of August, she said.

    Mississippi Power had some maintenance scheduled for Sunday, however that has been rescheduled, according to company spokesman Bill Snyder.

    “They were supposed to do some scheduled maintenance downtown, but they’re not going to do it now due to an 80 percent chance of rain (expected) that day,” Snyder said. “It was going to be just general maintenance on equipment.”

    Snyder says customers will be notified ahead of time of the new scheduled work dates, so that outages can be anticipated by customers.