We try our best to ensure you have reliable electric service, but sometimes circumstances beyond our control—like the weather—can knock out your power. When that happens, you can now be notified by email or text.

Last year we began sending outage notifications to members by email. That means if we have your email address on file, you will automatically receive an email from us when we detect a power outage for your account, and another when it’s restored.

While we automatically send those outage updates by email, you can choose to receive outage notifications by text instead. You have complete control over your communication preferences through SmartHub, our online account management tool and mobile app.

In SPEC’s 2019 membership satisfaction survey, we asked our members to tell us their preferred method of communication to receive information from the co-op. Nearly half of our respondents said they preferred to receive information through email. We’ve also received feedback from members, that outage notifications would be valuable through text messages too.

We know it’s helpful for our members to have as much information as possible when there’s a power outage. When we have major outages, we make special efforts to update our Facebook page, and we encourage you to follow us there for those details. However, we hope this new direct communication tool will be more effective in reaching all of our members.

Enroll in Text Notifications

To receive text notifications, you must first ensure your cell phone number is linked to your account. When you login to SmartHub, simply click the Notifications tab at the top of the website and select Manage Contacts from the drop down menu. Then click the button to add a phone number. Enter your cell phone number, and be sure to click the box to receive text messages.

Through the app, this process can be completed in settings under Contact Methods.

Once your cell phone is linked, you can opt-in to outage text messages by clicking Manage Notifications on the SmartHub website, or in the settings on your mobile app.  

Here, you can control how you receive all messages from San Patricio EC – by email, text or not at all.  In addition to controlling how you receive outage information, you can also decide how to receive bill alerts, payment notifications, past due alerts and more. You can change your preferences at any time, and as often as you would like.

If you need assistance setting up your communication preferences, please give us a call at 361-364-2220. We’re happy to help!