Power, Utilities & Connectivity

This is the most commonly confused thing about outages here. The City of Menasha is served by its own municipal utility, not by We Energies. Reporting a Menasha outage to We Energies will not get your power restored, and calling the wrong utility during a disaster wastes time you may not have.

Report a power outage, partial power, flickering lights or a downed line: (920) 967-5190

Water emergency — main break, loss of pressure, or water quality: (920) 967-3450

Menasha Utilities also runs the city water system, so the boil water advisory is theirs. Call the water number above if you are unsure whether the advisory still applies to your address.

Main office: (920) 967-3400, Monday to Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Outside those hours use the outage or water emergency lines above, which are monitored around the clock.

Other useful numbers: electric meter exchange (920) 967-3423, and tree trimming or a street light out (920) 967-3400.

Village of Fox Crossing and Town of Menasha addresses are a different matter — check a recent bill to confirm who serves you, as the boundary is not obvious from the address alone.

Outages peaked above 126,000 We Energies customers on July 27. As of that evening roughly 97,000 were still out across about 720 separate outages.

Hardest hit by county: Kenosha (31,015), Milwaukee (22,345), Outagamie (20,204), Winnebago (9,838), Calumet (4,721).

By municipality: Appleton 22,670 — roughly 30% of the city — and Neenah 5,883. A further 2,388 were reported under the Menasha name; note that We Energies does not serve the City of Menasha itself, so those are surrounding-area customers.

If your address is in the City of Menasha, call Menasha Utilities at (920) 967-5190 instead — the city has its own municipal electric utility, and We Energies cannot restore your power. Check a recent bill if you are unsure who serves you.

Report your own outage. Crews route work from reported outages, and a house on a repaired line can stay dark for days because nobody reported it individually.

To report a downed line or gas odor, call the emergency line immediately rather than using the app.

Parts of the Fox Valley are served by Wisconsin Public Service instead of We Energies. If you are unsure which utility serves you, check a recent bill.

WPS reported several hundred additional customers out in Winnebago County following the storm.

Winnebago County lists Calvary Bible Church as a cooling and charging site. Somewhere to get out of the heat and put a charge on your phone.

The county publishes no hours for this site. Ring ahead rather than turning up on the strength of this page.

If you came here for supplies

That has ended. Through the first weeks after the tornado this was also a supply point — non-perishable food, water, clothing, hygiene supplies, diapers, wipes and cleaning supplies, from door 15. The county no longer lists any of that here.

Those supplies are still available, just elsewhere:

• Jefferson Early Learning, 105 Ice St, Menasha — water, non-perishable food, cleaning supplies and personal hygiene items. Resource pickup daily 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., and showers daily 6:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
• Mill City Church, 120 N Lake St, Neenah — water, plus resource totes with non-perishable food, outdoor cleanup supplies and personal hygiene items
• Community Clothes Closet, 1465 Opportunity Way #B, Menasha — clothing and supplies
• St. Joe's Food Pantry, 1465A Opportunity Way, Menasha — groceries and personal hygiene items. Monday and Wednesday 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Other cooling and charging sites

Appleton North High School · Christ the Rock Community Church (regular business hours) · Elisha D Smith Memorial Library, Menasha · Neenah-Menasha YMCA (5:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.) · Neenah Public Library

Kaukauna Utilities is a third municipal electric provider in the region, alongside Menasha Utilities, We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service.

Outagamie County lists it among the providers residents should check for outage updates. If you are unsure who serves your address, check a recent bill — the boundaries are not obvious.

This is no longer the overnight shelter. Winnebago County has moved overnight sheltering to Appleton North High School, 5000 N Ballard Rd, Appleton.

Christ the Rock remains listed as a cooling and charging site — somewhere to get out of the heat, charge a phone, and sit down.

It sheltered people from 2:30 p.m. on July 27 through the first week, and a lot of people in Menasha still associate it with that. If you need a bed tonight, go to Appleton North.

Only the portable toilet remains here. It is still on the county's list.

What has ended

Through the first weeks this was a cooling and charging site with water, non-perishable food, basic supplies and a Cellcom charging station, entered from the Washington Street entrance. Winnebago County no longer lists any of that here.

Where to go instead

To cool down or charge a phone, the county's current list is:

• Elisha D Smith Memorial Library, 440 1st St, Menasha — the nearest to here
• Neenah-Menasha YMCA, 110 W North Water St, Neenah — 5:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
• Neenah Public Library, 240 E Wisconsin Ave, Neenah
• Christ the Rock Community Church, W6254 US 10/114, Menasha — regular business hours
• Calvary Bible Church, 1450 Oakridge Rd, Neenah
• Appleton North High School, 5000 N Ballard Rd, Appleton

For supplies, see Jefferson Early Learning (105 Ice St, Menasha — daily 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.) or Mill City Church (120 N Lake St, Neenah).