Area utilities send crews to aid power restoration
PECO and First Energy respond in wake of Hurricane Ida
PECO and First Energy have dispatched crews to help restore power in parts of Louisiana and Mississippi ravaged by Hurricane Ida.
The hurricane made landfall in Louisiana Sunday afternoon, bringing extreme winds, storm surge and flash flooding along the northeast Gulf Coast — leaving more than one million customers in the dark.
More than 45 PECO employees and contractors and 500 line workers, forestry crews, support personnel and internal contractors from First Energy have headed south to help Entergy with its restoration effort. The crews are part of part of mutual assistance networks coordinating recovery efforts.
Mutual assistance groups work cooperatively to restore service to customers when a natural disaster causes largescale power outages. Mutual assistance allows utilities to pool their resources to help restore power to customers faster, according to the utilities.
“Enduring significant storms like Hurricane Sandy and Winter Storms Riley and Quinn, we know firsthand how important assistance from other utilities can be in safely restoring service to customers as quickly as possible when severe weather hits,” John McDonald, PECO senior vice president and COO, said in a statement. “We are so proud of our employees who are answering this call for help.”
According to a PECO spokeswoman, 80 PECO contractors left Sunday and Monday morning, and 47 PECO employees left Monday afternoon. The PECO crews are initially headed to a staging area in Brookhaven,
Miss., Madison Mozer said, adding that of the 80 PECO contractors, 50 are vegetation personnel.
First Energy’s crews left on Sunday, and were expected to begin arriving in Louisiana throughout the day Tuesday. All 10 of FirstEnergy’s utilities are part of the mutual assistance effort, which includes Met-Ed, which is based in Berks County; Penn Power, Penelec, West Penn Power in Pennsylvania; The Illuminating Company, Ohio Edison and Toledo Edison in Ohio; Mon Power in West Virginia; Potomac Edison in West Virginia and Maryland; and Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) in New Jersey.
“Many of our linemen have been to Louisiana in the past to help following other hurricanes, and they are committed to assisting what is likely to be a massive power restoration effort in challenging working conditions,” John Skory, vice president of utility operations for FirstEnergy, said in a statement. “While it’s not expected that Hurricane Ida will have a significant impact on our FirstEnergy service territories, we have carefully assessed conditions and are confident we have the personnel in place to maintain reliable operations for our customers at home.”
PECO has also been tracking the weather system to ensure resources can be directed “where and when they were needed,” while also preparing for any potential impacts the storm may have on the local energy grid, the utility said.
Both utilities have provided support for other utilities across the region and the country as part of the mutual assistance networks. Likewise — other utilities have supported restoration efforts in Pennsylvania following severe storms, according to a press release.