Utility crews help restore power

Oklahoma electric utility crews and contractors are among the thousands of workers helping to restore power in the wake of Hurricane Harvey on the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast.

More than 10,000 workers have been deployed to the response and recovery effort, said the Edison Electric Institute. Mutual-assistance crews from at least 21 states are responding, with additional crews ready to respond to further efforts.

More than 300 employees and contractors from Public Service Co. of Oklahoma are working on Harvey-related power restoration. About 80 crew members from Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. are also in the region. In addition, employees from the Grand River Dam Authority and Mayes County emergency management are helping with water rescues in the Houston area.

“Responding to major events like Harvey requires significant coordination among many public and private sectors,” said EEI President Tom Kuhn. “For example, there are interdependencies among the energy, communications, supply chain, transportation and water and wastewater sectors. Strong industrygovernment coordination is critical.”

One of the first steps a company takes is to make sure that power is no longer flowing through downed power lines, the institute said in a storm update. “Restoration then proceeds based on established priorities, starting with damaged energy grid infrastructure and then proceeding to essential services like hospitals and water and wastewater systems.”