Co-ops clean up after Hurricane Ivan

Last month I told you how Mississippi’s electric power associations sent crews to help an electric cooperative in Florida restore power in the wake of Hurricane Charley. Weeks later some of these electric power associations found themselves on the receiving end of assistance, thanks to Hurricane Ivan.

About 153,000 meters served by electric power associations in Mississippi lost power after the category 4 storm rushed inland Sept. 14 at Gulf Shores, Ala. Power was restored to 84 percent of the affected meters within the first 36 hours of emergency work—the result of a statewide coordinated effort that involved more than 2,200 workers.

Hours after Ivan made landfall, electric power association employees began assessing the damage to substations, power lines and poles. Most of the damage was caused by trees or limbs being blown onto lines. The damage was widespread, but to everyone’s relief it was much less severe than we had feared.

Crews were mobilized for the massive, time-consuming job that involved removing fallen trees and limbs from lines, replacing damaged transformers, make repairs to substations and, in the some cases, resetting poles and restringing line.

All 26 of Mississippi’s electric power associations had prepared to respond to the emergency, regardless of whether their service area stood in harm’s way. Once the danger passed, 10 associations unaffected by the storm offered crews and equipment to those that were not so fortunate. They were joined by 270 crew members from electric cooperatives in Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri and Texas and 150 contractors.

In this manner, electric power associations teamed for a cooperative effort to restore power as quickly as possible. Although the crews worked speedily, they remained mindful of routine safety precautions and alert to new dangers that a natural disaster can present, such as strong winds and falling trees.

Many of the state’s coastal residents who had evacuated returned home to find their electricity on, easing their return to a normal life.

Once again, our emergency power-restoration plan was tested—and once again it passed.

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