‘Giving It Everything They’ve Got’: Co-ops Work to Wrap Up Hurricane Isaias Restoration
PublishedOctober 10, 2026
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Steven Johnson
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‘Giving It Everything They’ve Got’: Co-ops Work to Wrap Up Hurricane Isaias Restoration
Crews continued to make progress toward restoring power in CHELCO’s service territory. (Photo Courtesy: CHELCO)
Last Updated: Oct. 13, 4:30 p.m. ET
When it comes to restoring power after a hurricane, the final yards are always the toughest to get.
Line crews from multiple states continued to slog and slash their way into rural parts of the Gulf Coast to bring co-op members back online in the fourth day of recovery from Hurricane Isaias.
Fallen and twisted trees from a “sting jet” air stream associated with Hurricane Isaias remain an issue for Escambia River Electric Cooperative. (Photo Courtesy: Escambia River EC)
Overall, outage numbers on Tuesday served to underscore co-ops’ dedication to turning the lights back on as quickly and safely as possible. About a quarter-million members, mostly in Florida, Georgia and Alabama, had been without power after Isaias made landfall Friday night. By midday Tuesday, thousands of crews and support personnel had knocked that number down to a little more than 17,000.
Escambia River Electric Cooperative, headquartered in Jay, Florida, had nearly half of its membership still without electricity—about 7,793, according to data from the co-op.
The bulk of outages were in Santa Rosa County, especially east of the Escambia River, where Isaias delivered a rare “sting jet” effect—a narrow, scorpion-shaped band of destructive, high-speed wind that rips across the ground west of the eye of the hurricane.
That put measured winds at 116 mph in Santa Rosa Sound, and the effects of that will be felt for days, according to the co-op. Escambia River EC hoped to have 90% of power back on by Thursday night in areas hit hardest by the sting jet.
“Our crews, including those who have traveled from other cooperatives and mutual aid resources to help, are giving it everything they’ve got,” the co-op said in an update to members.
Escambia River Electric Cooperative crews wrap up another day of power restoration on Oct. 12. (Photo Courtesy: Escambia River Electric Cooperative)
CHELCO crews work to wrap up power restoration efforts after Hurricane Isaias wreaked havoc on their system. (Photo Courtesy: CHELCO)
Escambia River Electric Cooperative crews have been 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)
Talquin Electric Cooperative material clerks continue their support efforts with West Florida Electric Cooperative on Oct. 13. (Photo Courtesy: Talquin Electric Cooperative)
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," the co-op said Oct. 10 on Facebook. (Photo Courtesy: CHELCO)
Crews from Sumterville, Florida-based SECO Energy headed to the Florida Panhandle to assist CHELCO with power restoration after Hurricane Isaias. (Photo Courtesy: SECO Energy)
Crews from Sumterville, Florida-based SECO Energy headed 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 faced 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 headed to Escambia River Electric Cooperative in Florida to assist with restoration efforts. (Photo Courtesy: DEMCO)
In Alabama, Wiregrass Electric Cooperative’s Energy Control Center has been hard at work after Hurricane Isaias. (Photo Courtesy: Wiregrass Electric Cooperative)
South Alabama Electric Cooperative crews work to restore damage from Hurricane Isaias on Oct. 11. (Photo Courtesy: South Alabama Electric Cooperative)
Baldwin EMC crews work alongside mutual aid crews in the wake of Hurricane Isaias. (Photo Courtesy: Baldwin EMC)
Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative crews have been assisting CHELCO in repairing damage from Hurricane Isaias. (Photo Courtesy: Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative)
On the morning of Oct. 12, CHELCO was working to restore power to 20,000 members. (Photo Courtesy: CHELCO)
Crews prepare for another day of hard work restoring power in CHELCO's service territory on Oct. 12. (Photo Courtesy: CHELCO)
Crews prepare for another day of hard work restoring power in CHELCO's service territory on Oct. 12. (Photo Courtesy: CHELCO)
South Alabama Electric Cooperative crews work to restore power in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias on Oct. 11. (Photo Courtesy: South Alabama Electric Cooperative)
Wiregrass Electric Cooperative crews work to restore power on Oct. 12 after Hurricane Isaias left the majority of their system without power. (Photo Courtesy: Wiregrass Electric Cooperative)
Wake Electric crews joined Wiregrass Electric Cooperative to help restore power on Oct. 12. (Photo Courtesy: Wiregrass Electric Cooperative)
Choctawhatchee Electric Cooperative reported about 2,000 outages Tuesday, down dramatically from a high of more than 70,000. The biggest trouble spots remained in the low-lying areas between CHELCO’s headquarters and Destin, where Isaias first struck. CHELCO expected to have power returned by late Tuesday to all meters that could accept it safely.
Still hard at work were more than 500 lineworkers connecting service for Southern Pine Electric Cooperative in southwest Alabama. The Brewton-based co-op said it had about 6,000 meters out as of Tuesday morning as crews work through a tangle of barely accessible wires and trees. About 16,400 were in the dark at peak.
Line crews from Southwest Louisiana EMC are on the ground to assist hard-hit West Florida Electric Cooperative. (Photo Courtesy: West Florida EC)
Wiregrass Electric Cooperative, based in Hartford, Alabama, had less than 30 meters not yet spinning, an impressive accomplishment considering 18,000 were dark in the wake of Isaias.
“This is a tremendous milestone for our cooperative and the communities we serve,” said Wiregrass CEO Brad Kimbro. “Our crews and the many teams assisting us have accomplished an incredible amount of work in a short period of time. But our job is not finished until every member who can safely receive power has their lights back on. We will continue working with that same determination until restoration is complete.”
Pioneer Electric Cooperative, based in Greenville, was down to less than 200 outages but noted returning the remaining meters to service would be “one of the most time-consuming stages of storm restoration.”
Steven Johnson is a contributing writer for NRECA.
