Electric Cooperatives in Georgia Send Help Following Hurricane Delta

EMC line workers along with trucks and equipment from electric cooperatives across Georgia will head back to Louisiana to help restore power to areas impacted by Hurricane Delta.

Due to an overactive hurricane season, this trip will mark the third time in recent weeks that EMCs have answered the call for help after hurricanes have destroyed much of the electric distribution system in that region.

Beginning today, approximately 100 EMC crews from 11 co-ops will leave to assist Jeff Davis Electric Co-op and Beuregard Electric Co-op in southwest Louisiana which lost 100 percent power when Hurricane Delta made landfall.

“We’ve been in a position many times where Georgia co-ops needed help following a major storm,” said Harry Reeves, Georgia EMC vice president of training, education & Safety. “It’s our duty to respond in kind to our fellow co-ops since they’ve suffered so much damage from the recent hurricanes. We have an unwritten agreement among a network of cooperatives across the country to provide help whenever possible, and this is a perfect example of how we come to the aid of those in need.”

That philosophy was put into practice recently when Hurricane Laura made landfall in southwest Louisiana and devastated the electric distribution system. When called, 200 EMC line crews from Georgia traveled to Louisiana where they spent up to six weeks helping Jeff Davis Electric Co-op rebuild its distribution system which was completely destroyed and 100 percent without power.

After Hurricane Sally caused destruction along the Gulf Coast on the heels of Hurricane Laura, 17 EMCs sent nearly 90 crews and a large contingent of trucks and equipment to assist Baldwin EMC whose service territory is between Mobile, Ala. and Pensacola, Fla. The co-op lost power to 17 of 22 substations, 2,000 power poles and 4,000 spans of power line.

While Reeves can’t say specifically in what order power will be restored in the affected areas, he notes that many utilities follow a standard industry practice to repair and energize lines. First, feeder and primary lines are repaired, then secondary and service lines next. This method restores power to the greatest number of people in the shortest amount of time.

The EMCs in Georgia have vast experience restoring power following major storms. In recent years, Georgia has been especially hard hit with hurricanes, tornadoes and ice/snow events. Consequently, EMC crews in the state have worked alongside co-ops in South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida, plus some from as far away as Michigan and Wisconsin following the historic damage caused by Hurricanes Irma and Michael.

Georgia EMC is the statewide trade association representing the state’s 41 electric cooperatives, Oglethorpe Power Corp., Georgia Transmission Corp. and Georgia System Operations Corp. Collectively, Georgia’s customer-owned co-ops provide electricity and related services to 4.4 million people, nearly half of Georgia’s population, across 73 percent of the state’s land area. To learn more, visit www.georgiaemc.com and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

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