Gulf Coast Co-ops Work to Restore Power in the Wake of Hurricane Isaias
PublishedOctober 10, 2026
Author
Steven Johnson
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Gulf Coast Co-ops Work to Restore Power in the Wake of Hurricane Isaias
Escambia River Electric Cooperative crews work to restore power on Saturday. Around 95% of the co-op’s system was out in the immediate aftermath of the storm. (Photo Courtesy: Escambia River EC)
Last Updated: Oct. 11, 8 a.m. ET
Electric cooperatives along the Gulf Coast reported good progress in the first day of power restoration following Hurricane Isaias, though it was clear that full restoration will be a heavy lift in the days to come.
Working with mutual aid crews from at least eight states, as well as contractors, lineworkers cut the number of outages among affected co-ops by more than half from about 250,000 members who were in the dark at the peak of the storm.
Still, several co-ops were digging in for the long haul by constructing tent cities and basecamps to accommodate out-of-area crews.
Crews work to restore power in CHELCO’s territory on Saturday. (Photo Courtesy: CHELCO)
Brad Kimbro, CEO of Wiregrass Electric Cooperative in Hartford, Alabama, described damage as “extremely widespread. … This is going to be a massive restoration effort.” Wiregrass had about 9,500 meters without power as of daybreak Sunday, down from about 18,000 in the hours after the storm. In a video message, Kimbro said at least 300 lineworkers were on the job and a co-op basecamp would be used for centralized work.
Choctawhatchee Electric Cooperative, based in DeFuniak Springs, Florida, was working at the single largest number of outages in the wake of Isaias. About 20,000 members were back on after Saturday’s efforts, but that still left about 52,000 without electricity.
CHELCO also established a 1,000-worker basecamp facility and anticipated another 500 mutual aid on contractors on hand Sunday with more line techs arriving Monday, which would put 1,400 lineworkers, right-of-work technicians and support personnel in the field.
CEO Steve Rhodes praised lineworkers’ effort in the face of overwhelming damage but warned that the co-op was still working through piles of downed poles, trees and lines. The damage, he said, was “overwhelming.”
DeFuniak Springs, Florida-based CHELCO faced the single largest number of outages in the wake of Hurricane Isaias. "This is easily the largest storm response in CHELCO’s history, and there is still much work to be done," the co-op said on Facebook. (Photo Courtesy: CHELCO)
Escambia River Electric Cooperative crews are dealing with extensive damage in their Florida service territory after Hurricane Isaias. Around 95% of the co-op’s system was out in the immediate aftermath of the storm. (Photo Courtesy: Escambia River Electric Cooperative)
Crews from Sumterville, Florida-based SECO Energy prepare to head to the Florida Panhandle to assist CHELCO with power restoration after Hurricane Isaias. (Photo Courtesy: SECO Energy)
Crews from Sumterville, Florida-based SECO Energy prepare to head to the Florida Panhandle to assist CHELCO with power restoration after Hurricane Isaias. (Photo Courtesy: SECO Energy)
In Mississippi, a Singing River Electric Cooperative member service representative listens to outage messages and returns calls during the storm response for Hurricane Isaias. (Photo Courtesy: Singing River Electric Cooperative)
In Mississippi, a Singing River Electric Cooperative member service representative listens to outage messages and returns calls during the storm response for Hurricane Isaias. (Photo Courtesy: Singing River Electric Cooperative)
In Mississippi, Singing River Electric Cooperative crews quickly dealt with a downed tree that caused an outage on Highway 26. (Photo Courtesy: Singing River Electric Cooperative)
In Georgia, Snapping Shoals EMC crews were out before daylight Oct. 10 to restore outages to more than 4,000 members. (Photo Courtesy: Snapping Shoals EMC)
In Georgia, Sawnee EMC crews face downed trees and equipment after Hurricane Isaias passed through the area on Oct. 10. (Photo Courtesy: Sawnee EMC)
In Alabama, Crews work to restore power in Baldwin EMC's service territory on Oct. 10. (Photo Courtesy: Baldwin EMC)
Crews from Dade City, Florida-based Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative have been assisting CHELCO with restoration efforts. (Photo Courtesy: Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative)
Crews from DEMCO in Louisiana prepare to head to Escambia River Electric Cooperative in Florida to assist with restoration efforts. (Photo Courtesy: DEMCO)
In Alabama, Wiregrass Electric Cooperative’s Energy Control Center is hard at work after Hurricane Isaias. (Photo Courtesy: Wiregrass Electric Cooperative)
Two dozen crew members from DEMCO, based in Denham Springs, Louisiana, were pitching in at Escambia River, with other Louisiana co-ops sending assistance as well. Missouri co-ops sent 184 lineworkers to help with power restoration, the largest out-of-state deployment in more than two years. Additionally, hundreds of lineworkers from less affected Florida co-ops traveled to the Gulf to help their in-state co-ops.
Overall, about 79,140 co-op members lacked power in Florida early Sunday morning, with another 32,000 co-op outages in Alabama. Co-ops in Georgia, hit by hard rain and winds as Isaias weakened to the northeast, had 7,000 members in the dark Sunday, down from more than 45,000 at the height of the storm.
Steven Johnson is a contributing writer for NRECA.
