Florence Recovery: Co-op Power Restoration Means All Hands on Deck

For electric co-ops in the path of Hurricane Florence, the process of restoring power to hundreds of thousands of consumer-members has been the ultimate team effort.

While the flashing lights of bucket trucks and digger-derricks along wet roads are hard to miss, every lineworker and tree trimmer working in the mud and muck to remove debris and rebuild power lines is backed up by co-workers at service centers, pole yards and other facilities commandeered to support emergency restoration work.

Everybody’s On Duty

“Crews in the field work 16 hours a day, but then they get rest breaks and stand down overnight,” said Gay Johnson, director of corporate communications at Four County Electric Membership Corp. in Burgaw, North Carolina. “Flooded conditions across our service territory and the amount of debris that still has to be removed limits what can be done safely in the dark.”

Support facilities were busy at many co-op locations even before Florence made landfall on Sept. 14, and the heightened activity will continue until power is fully restored.

“We expect to be doing this for about two weeks,” said Johnson. “We’ve got staffers who have been displaced out of their homes by flooding and their families are in shelters, but they’re on the job.”

In fact, one Four County EMC staffer has been designated a family trouble shooter. It’s his job to help out the families of employees who face Florence-related damages, such as roof leaks or water damage.

“He goes out and places tarps and does what he can to help limit the damage,” said Johnson. “All of our employees are on board with the mission: getting the power back on for the members.”

Stepping Up to Do What’s Needed

“People who do certain jobs under normal circumstances get assigned to much different roles during emergencies like this because they are essential,” said Lisa Galizia, communications director of Newport, North Carolina-based Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative.

“At times like this, what matters is lodging visiting crews, keeping everyone fed, getting supplies out, and bird-dogging for line crews unfamiliar with your territory,” said Galizia. “What you regularly do Monday through Friday when all is well is always important, but it may not be at all what’s needed most right now.”

Since the restoration effort geared up, the co-op headquarters’ parking lot by 5 a.m. each day has resembled a traffic jam in New York City’s Times Square. But instead of taxicabs, there are line trucks, pole trailers and digger-derricks with a dozen different co-op logos filling all available spaces.

“We’re pumping out grits, bacon and eggs to the crews, while our staffers load up trucks and trailers with the poles, transformers and other equipment they’ll need to at least start the day,” said Galizia. “It’s kind of like a ballet with vehicles flowing in and out the gates and headed out to rebuild lines.”

With 300 co-op staff and mutual aid crewmembers spread across the co-op’s four-county service territory, handling lunches and dinners has been a combination of onsite meals when crews come in for resupply and deliveries by any staffers available.

“When a staking technician or ‘bird-dog’ comes in to get materials, we’ll fill any extra space with meals to feed the crews they’re working with,” said Galizia. “We’re constantly keeping track of where the crews are and how many meals they need so we can run them out to them.”

While geographic information systems, global positioning system technology, cellphones and cab-mounted computers are critical during the ongoing restoration work, white boards, Post-it notes, chalk slates, legal pads on clipboards and paper notebooks are also getting a workout.

“It’s a combination of old and new technology,” said Galizia.  “Anything that helps us get the job done will help us get service restored to our members as quickly and safely as possible.”

No Ties, No Titles

Just a few weeks ago, the YMCA’s Camp Seafarer in North Carolina was bustling with rambunctious youngsters enjoying their summer camp experiences.  Now, the cabins and cafeteria are housing visiting lineworkers and tree crews who put in long hours rebuilding distribution lines for Tideland Electric Membership Corp.

“Our CEO has worn many different hats in this storm, but the most interesting of all has been school bus driver,” said Heidi Jernigan Smith, manager of marketing and corporate communications for Pantego, North Carolina-based Tideland EMC.

When crews pull in after dark at the co-op’s service lot, they park their trucks so the co-op’s beefed-up warehouse staff can restock hardware and other supplies needed for the next day’s restoration work. That’s when CEO Paul Spruill goes to work.

“He loads the crews up on a school bus to take them to Camp Seafarer and deliver them at one of four different bus stops for their designated group of cabins,” said Smith.

At the camp, hiring and benefits have not been foremost on the mind of Tideland EMC’s Myra Beasley, the human resources manager. She’s spending more than a dozen hours each day getting meals to everyone involved with restoring service to the several thousand co-op members without electricity.

“Beasley is heading up menu planning and food preparation with her day beginning at 4 a.m. to have breakfast ready by 5:30 a.m. Then lunch prep begins,” said Smith. “Accounting and member service employees are tasked with delivering both lunch and dinner to the crews wherever they are currently working.”

While mutual aid crews know their jobs and how to rebuild lines and restore distribution systems to Rural Utilities Service standards, they don’t necessarily know the topography of North Carolina’s coastal plain, or the cutbacks and mud bogs heavy rains can make of rural roads.

“We rehired two recent retirees as contractors,” said Smith. One former staffer is now helping crews get around flooded roads and other detours so they can continue restoration work. A former meter technician is disconnecting AMI meters in a flooded subdivision so work can be done safely to restore damaged underground distribution system components.

“Retirees know our system well, and they also know how we feel about safety, so they are a great fit at times like this,” said Smith. “They perform a wonderful service.”

Restore, Dry Out and Repeat

“This has been all hands on deck, with lots of boots on the ground and all available hands on the phones,” said Penelope Hinson, manager of public relations, marketing and energy management for Horry Electric Cooperative in Conway, South Carolina. “There’s not a person in this co-op that hasn’t pitched into help.”

While some stay busy preparing meals and packing field supplies, others are on hotshot duty, delivering lunches, snacks, water and other essential supplies to crews spread across the co-op’s service territory.

Horry has no plans to release mutual aid and contract crews because additional major flooding across its service territory is a near-certainty. With all major restoration work completed Sept. 17, staffers who can reach their homes may get a break for a few hours to check on their families and property.

“We had three employees Monday morning who had to be picked up by National Guard,” said Hinson. The staffers had driven home Sunday night, but a localized heavy rainstorm pushed area waterways beyond their banks, leaving roads impassable except by boat or high-water vehicle.

“We expect the water to be as bad as the wind was, so we’re ready to get back into this when and if it’s necessary,” Hinson said.

“The ‘thank yous’ and gratitude can almost get disruptive,” said Tideland EMC’s Smith.  A co-op member called her Monday to express his frustration because a crew was reluctant to accept a relatively large carryout order from a local restaurant.

“He told them, ‘If you don’t take this food, I’m going to throw it down on the ground because I want you to let me thank you properly,’” said Smith. “That kind of constant reinforcement keeps us moving. People get teary-eyed when they see you coming because they’re glad to get their power back on.”

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