Author: Wade Harris

In a Wild Weather Year, Co-op Crews Came Together to Restore Power

High winds, heavy rain and storm surge pummeled the service territories of dozens of co-ops during the most active hurricane season on record. Of 30 named storms, a dozen made landfall in the United States, knocking out electricity to hundreds of thousands of co-op-served homes and businesses. Some co-ops in Louisiana faced the challenges of back-to-back storms that kept visiting crews in the field for weeks.

“COVID-19 was overshadowed to a large degree by two major hurricanes hitting our service area in a few weeks’ time. A third skipped just to our east a few weeks after that,” said Mary Laurent, communications coordinator for Lafayette-based Southern Louisiana Electric Membership Corp. “Without the aid of outside co-op and contractor crews, power restoration would have been devastatingly slow, and our members would have been without power much longer—just when many were sick at home and desperately needed power.”

When a powerful derecho roared across the Northern Plains in August, Central Iowa Power Cooperative reported more than 600 transmission structures down.

“We had damaged infrastructure in 11 counties, and more than 100 of our member co-ops’ distribution substations were offline,” said Dan Burns, vice president of utility operations for the Cedar Rapids-based G&T.

With the help of volunteers from four other Midwestern G&Ts, crews worked double shifts and longer restoring power to more than 58,000 homes and businesses.

Meanwhile, out West, wildfires blackened more than 8 million acres across parts of four states and damaged the systems of co-ops serving members from the Rockies to the Pacific Coast. Four co-ops in Oregon suffered major damage on lines serving members living in remote and hard-to-access mountainous terrain.

“It’s going to be an incredible job to rebuild those systems,” said Ted Case, executive director of the Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association in Wilsonville.

Co-ops from more than two dozen states provided mutual aid on power restoration projects in hard-hit areas this year. Crews practiced social distancing and other pandemic mitigation measures to minimize risks during those assignments and returned to their home service territories once emergency repairs were completed. But permanent repairs and cleanup work continues in some areas, with local crews and contractors still working long hours.

“Since Aug. 27 we’ve had crews working post-hurricane repairs fore 16 hours a day, seven days a week and we’ll keep up that pace thru Dec. 15, so this is still going on for us,” said Michael Heinen, general manager of Jennings, Louisiana-based Jeff Davis Electric Cooperative, praising the grit and determination of his staff and volunteering crews. “We’re proud to be part of the rural electric family that has responded with help from across the nation,” Heinen added. “There’s no better group of people in the world.”

Derrill Holly is a staff writer at NRECA.

A time of sacrifice

December is typically the time when we think of Christmas and the new year. However, this year, as hard as we try, those traditions will not be the same as we continue to battle the coronavirus pandemic.

When we think of Christmas, we of course think of getting together with our family. I believe it will be important during the holidays this year that we stay vigilant to remain safe even if that means gathering with our immediate family.

I recall my family’s holiday gatherings of the 1970s. We would visit my grandparents in southern Ohio on the little farm that they owned. The olive green house with matching shag carpet would not be attractive by today’s standards, but I loved seeing the people inside.

Some of the people I saw during those visits were true heroes to me, tracing back to the decisions they made more than 30 years prior. December 7 meant something to my grandfather and my great uncles who served our country.

Many of you have heard the speech delivered by President Roosevelt calling this “a date which will live in infamy.” December 7, 1941, is the day our military and our country was attacked at Pearl Harbor.

The men whom I would later see at our Christmas celebration in the ’70s stood up to join the military in the ’40s. I often wondered what that was like for them. My family would go on to serve in Europe in the United States Army throughout the war.

There are a couple of mementos in my house and in my office that remind me of the sacrifice of my family and the many Americans who defend our country. I have a small picture of my grandfather on my desk and in our living room I have the American flag that was given to my grandmother at his funeral.

I know this holiday season will be different. I have faith that our country will overcome this pandemic and once again we will be able to enjoy the life that we love so much. But during this time when we sacrifice, let us not forget the sacrifices that have been made for many years by American heroes.

Chris Perry, Kentucky Electric Cooperatives President and CEO.

Electric co-ops and a Biden presidency

Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential race sets the stage for the former vice president to implement sweeping environmental policy changes. But his planned agenda will likely be muted by what now looks to be a divided Congress, with a Republican-led Senate and a diminished Democratic majority in the House.

In the near term, Biden is expected to push for a broad economic stimulus plan shortly after he takes office in January, presenting opportunities for NRECA to secure more pandemic relief for co-ops and their consumer-members.

“Vice President Biden has been clear that the two most important things facing our country are health care, especially related to the pandemic, and the economy. We agree,” said NRECA CEO Jim Matheson. “We are focused on supporting our members in the development of the next COVID relief package, including RUS loan refinancing, shortfalls caused by nonpayment of bills and protecting those consumer-members who are least able to pay their bills.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he wants to move another economic stimulus package before the end of the year.

Matheson said NRECA will work with bipartisan champions in Congress to pass the Flexible Financing for Rural America Act, which could save co-ops more than $10 billion by allowing them to reprice loans from the Rural Utilities Service at current low interest rates. The bill would waive any prepayment penalties normally associated with refinancing.

“Our priorities remain the same: to protect the interests of America’s electric cooperatives and to ensure government doesn’t get in the way of affordable, reliable power,” he said.

Over the longer term, electric co-ops will work to shape a $2 trillion plan Biden campaigned on that would eliminate carbon dioxide emissions from the electric power sector by 2035 and replace fossil fuels with zero-emission sources such as wind, solar, nuclear, hydropower and biomass. The divided Congress could affect how aggressively the incoming administration pursues these goals.

“The vice president has put forward principles, but the details really matter,” said Louis Finkel, NRECA’s senior vice president for government affairs. “And as those details emerge, we will evaluate them based on the tenets of affordability, reliability and resiliency.”

Biden has also touted the need to pass a comprehensive infrastructure spending bill to rebuild the nation’s aging highways and bridges and invest in public transportation and electric vehicle charging stations. He is pushing for rural broadband deployment as part of that plan.

“Our long-standing approach—to work in a bipartisan fashion with lawmakers—is going to continue to be important,” Matheson said. “Regardless of who is in control of the Congress, we feel good about the champions that we’ve worked with on both sides of the aisle. No piece of legislation we’ve ever championed has been partisan, and we will continue to work with Republicans and Democrats alike.”

By Erin Kelly, NRECA

Co-ops Restore Power After Back-to-Back Hurricanes

Louisiana’s electric cooperatives were still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Laura when Hurricane Delta slammed into the state on Oct. 9, dealing another blow to co-op members already coping with damaged or destroyed homes.

Once again, Jeff Davis Electric Cooperative in Jennings and Beauregard Electric Cooperative Inc. in Deridder were hit hardest, losing 100% power for the second time in about six weeks. But, with help from hundreds of co-op lineworkers from a dozen other states organized by the Association of Louisiana Electric Cooperatives, they restored power to many of their consumer-members in less than a week.

“Electricity is life,” said Mike Heinen, general manager of Jeff Davis EC, a small co-op with 11,000 meters and 49 employees. “No matter how exhausted we all are, you can’t say ‘no, I’m not going to do it today.’ If we don’t do our jobs, our members can’t get back up.”

Jeff Davis EC, which had restored power to about 75% of its system when Delta hit, was back up to about 50% power on Oct. 14 and to nearly 80% power by Oct. 18. Beauregard EC, which has 42,800 meters, completed its restoration work by Oct. 16.

“The good news is Delta wasn’t near as bad as Laura,” said Beauregard EC General Manager Kevin Turner. “We’re coming back a whole lot quicker.”

During Laura, about 4,000 of Beauregard’s power poles were knocked to the ground. In contrast, Delta brought down only about 50. However, Delta soaked parts of the service territory with 10 to 17 inches of water, requiring the co-op to use airboats and off-road vehicles to reach flooded areas where repairs were needed, Turner said.

“That slowed us down some,” he said. “It’s taken a few days longer this time to get the water to drain all out.”

Heinen estimates his co-op will be putting its system back together through December. Jeff Davis EC lost nearly 100 miles of transmission line during Laura and had just started rebuilding it when Delta hit. Fortunately, the rebuilt lines survived the second hurricane, he said.

“The most important thing is that nobody got hurt,” Heinen said. “Everything else can be replaced.”

Each co-op has had help from about 700 lineworkers who rushed in from co-ops in other states to help their Louisiana colleagues restore power after Delta. After Laura, about 1,200 out-of-state lineworkers came to help Beauregard EC and about 750 came to help Jeff Davis EC.

“You cannot do it without help from your brother and sister co-ops,” Heinen said. “Not this time. Not this big.”

But welcoming the out-of-state crews has been more complicated this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Turner said.

“It’s like working with one hand tied behind your back with COVID,” he said.

More tents were required for visiting lineworkers to ensure social distancing—only 300 people could be housed in tents meant for 600. The co-op also had to find parking places for up to 1,200 trucks instead of 400 during Laura because crew members can’t ride in the same truck.

“You’ve got to fuel all those extra bucket trucks and diggers,” Turner said. “And fuel was already in short supply during the storm.”

Local co-op employees put in 16-hour days getting things ready for the visiting crews and working with them to restore power. A total of 18 employees from both co-ops lost their homes in Laura or Delta.

“But they all showed up here the next day,” Turner said. “It’s kind of in everybody’s DNA around here to keep working ‘til we get the power back on.”

Heinen said a young lineworker came to him one evening, tired after a day spent restoring power to a substation.

“When the lights came on, a family came out on their porch and cheered and thanked him,” he said. “That lineworker told me, ‘Now I know why I’m here.’”

In some cases, the crews are restoring lines to empty lots where homes have been flattened by the hurricanes, Heinen said.

“But those folks will be back,” he said. “This is their land. This is their home.”

Erin Kelly is a staff writer at NRECA.

2020 KMSA Virtual Fall Meeting

The Kentucky Member Services Association (KMSA) is pleased to announce the agenda for its annual Fall Meeting on October 22 and 23.

This all-virtual program is limited to two 2-hour sessions on Day 1 and one 3-hour session on Day 2. There is no charge for attending this virtual conference. Though we hope that all communicators and member services professionals attend, the links to these sessions will be open to all co-op personnel. Specific Microsoft Teams virtual meeting links for each day are being shared both in the e-mail invitation and in the state association newsletter.

Click here for the 2020 agenda.

Kentucky crews call ‘Tent City’ home in Louisiana

The 73 Kentucky electric cooperative line technicians helping restore power to Beauregard Electric Cooperative in Louisiana after Hurricane Delta have lots of company. More than 500 co-op line technicians are bunking in the co-op’s housing and staging area, known as “Tent City”, at the Beauregard Parish Regional Airport (photo above courtesy Owen Electric’s Delta update).

Crews restored power to about 10,000 meters on Tuesday. The co-op reports about 19,000 of its 42,000 meters remain without power this morning. Nine Kentucky co-ops are participating in the mutual aid effort.

Crews are dealing with damage from August’s Hurricane Laura (photo above courtesy South Kentucky RECC) plus the floodwaters of last week’s Hurricane Delta.

Click here to watch Kentucky co-op crews deploy to Hurricane Delta relief.
Click here to watch a video tribute to Kentucky co-op crews who responded to Hurricane Sally in Alabama.

Hurricane Delta: Latest Updates on Co-ops’ Restoration Efforts

Electric cooperatives in Louisiana and Mississippi made dramatic progress by Tuesday in restoring power after Hurricane Delta slammed into portions of the Gulf Coast that are still recovering from Hurricane Laura.

More than 120,000 people remained without power Tuesday in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, down from more than 800,000 on Saturday. That included about 55,000 co-op consumer-members in Louisiana and Mississippi, down from a high of more than 250,000. Two east Texas co-ops affected by Delta have completed restoration.

Delta made landfall near Creole, Louisiana, about 6 p.m. Central time Friday as a Category 2 hurricane, with winds of up to 100 miles per hour. Louisiana co-ops, still repairing damage from Laura, were hit hardest by Delta as it caused fallen wires, damaged poles and severe flooding. The four Louisiana co-ops still recovering from Delta reported about 46,500 meters without power Tuesday. They had more than four times that many outages on Saturday.

“Hurricane Delta came ashore in already storm-torn southwest Louisiana and moved northeastward through the state, causing damage to all our ALEC member electric cooperatives’ systems,” said Jeff Arnold, CEO of the statewide association. “The Association of Louisiana Electric Cooperatives (ALEC) has once again initialized our mutual-aid network to recruit help from lineworkers from other states to assist in the recovery.”

A day after Hurricane Delta made landfall as a Category 2 storm, floodwaters cover a roadway near structures damaged by Hurricane Laura in Cameron, Louisiana. (Photo By: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Beauregard Electric Cooperative Inc. in Deridder and Jeff Davis Electric Co-op in Jennings both lost power to 100% of their meters, just as they did when Laura struck about six weeks ago—affecting 42,800 meters for Beauregard EC and 11,000 for Jeff Davis EC.

By Tuesday morning, Beauregard EC had restored power to 45% of its system and expected to reach 50% by the end of the day, said General Manager Kevin Turner.

“It still seems hard to believe that we have been hit with two major hurricanes in a matter of weeks,” Turner said. “Even though we are dealing with the residual effects of Delta’s rains, in terms of high water and flooded areas, I think we are making great strides in restoring our members quickly. I’m really proud of all the hard work of all of our employees.”

Jeff Davis EC was able to begin restoring power Monday after ramping up manpower from out-of-state co-op crews. The co-op now has more than 700 visiting lineworkers helping them, the same number that came in after Laura hit.

“Today we were able to reach a significant milestone restoring power once again to some consumer-members,” Jeff Davis EC General Manager Mike Heinen said in a press release Monday night. He said the co-op was able to restore nearly 1,300 meters.

“We had to send our additional line crews, from Hurricane Laura, home to keep them out of harm’s way prior to Hurricane Delta,” Heinen said. “However, they have been traveling from their home states to return and continue to help us in our restoration and reconstruction efforts. I’m incredibly grateful for all the extra help we have received.”

Jeff Davis EC and Beauregard EC, with help from other co-op crews throughout the country, were just wrapping up restoration work from Laura when Delta hit.

“Prior to Hurricane Delta making landfall, we had restored power to approximately 75% of our consumer-members,” Heinen said. “Everyone is storm battered and weary, but as soon as the winds subsided, we got back to work assessing the most recent damages. Our consumer-members and employees understand they live in a hurricane prone region, and they are resilient. They will just pick up where they left off and continue the charge.”

In a bit of good news, both Jeff Davis EC and Beauregard EC reported that their systems suffered less overall damage from Delta than from Laura. Beauregard re-energized three of its substations by Sunday and expects to re-energize the rest by Wednesday. New transmission lines and structures that Jeff Davis erected after Laura survived Delta.

“If there is a silver lining to an area getting hit with two hurricanes within a number of weeks, it is that Hurricane Delta did not inflict the same level of devastation to our distribution infrastructure,” said Turner, who expects full power to be restored at Beauregard EC within two weeks. “In Laura, miles and miles of three-phase distribution lines were destroyed. After Delta, many of those lines and poles are still standing.”

More than 100,000 members of Southwest Louisiana Electric Membership Corp. in Lafayette lost power Friday night, but that number had been reduced to 20,745 by Tuesday morning.

“Crews are continuing to work in all areas,” SLEMCO said on its website. “We have hundreds of contract crew members from several different states working side-by-side with our own crews in damage assessment, power restoration and right-of-way tree trimming. Crews are still working on feeders today and beginning to work on smaller outages in some areas, too.”

Crews from Southwest Louisiana Electric Membership Corp. in Lafayette restore power in the wake of Hurricane Delta. When Delta hit, it knocked out power to more than 100,000 members, but that number had dropped to less than 21,000 by Tuesday. (Photo Courtesy: SLEMCO)

Dixie Electric Membership Corp. in Baton Rouge told its members Sunday that Delta “has been one of the worst weather events to impact the DEMCO system” since the 2016 flood in the wake of Hurricane Gustav. Early Saturday morning, there were nearly 42,000 meters without power. As of Tuesday morning, co-op crews had slashed that number to 2,092 after welcoming help from Alabama and Florida co-ops. Eight Florida co-ops have sent 55 lineworkers to assist DEMCO, said Alisia Hounshell, director of communications and statewide services at Florida Electric Cooperative Association.

“We will do everything we can to safely restore power to every meter as quickly as possible,” DEMCO CEO and General Manager Randy Pierce wrote in a message to members.

Claiborne Electric Cooperative in Homer finished restoring power Tuesday to all but of a handful of meters after initially sustaining outages to 21% of its system, or 5,000 meters.

In Mississippi, only one of the four co-ops damaged by Delta still had power outages Tuesday. Southwest Mississippi Electric Power Association in Lorman reported 7,937 meters without power, or 31% of its system. On Saturday, four of the state’s co-ops had a total of 50,000 meters without power, but other Mississippi co-ops rushed in to help their hard-hit colleagues, bringing outage numbers down quickly, said Ron Stewart, senior vice president of communications at the Electric Cooperatives of Mississippi.

“We have restored 50% of our system in three days,” Southwest Electric said in a press release. “We have 194 lineworkers spread out across our nine-county service area repairing damage. So far, we have found over 150 broken poles and cross-arms. That is MORE than we had after Hurricane Katrina. The damage is systemwide. Our lineworkers, the contractors and the crews from the seven sister cooperatives are working as fast as possible while keeping the safety of themselves and the public in mind.”

In Texas, Jasper-Newton Electric Cooperative in Kirbyville has restored power to all 4,700 members affected by Delta. Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative initially reported about 2,600 outages but completed its repairs over the weekend. The co-op sent crews to help Beauregard EC in Louisiana.

Erin Kelly is a staff writer at NRECA.

Kentucky electric co-ops deploy 85 workers to help in Hurricane Sally recovery

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (September 17, 2020) – In response to a request from an electric cooperative in Alabama, 85 electric co-op employees from Kentucky are joining power restoration efforts after Hurricane Sally hammered the Gulf Coast on Wednesday.

The Category 2 hurricane made landfall early Wednesday in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Moving inland at only about 3 miles per hour, the storm has caused massive flooding and has knocked out power to more than a half-million homes and businesses in Alabama, Florida and Louisiana. Kentucky co-op crews will help restore power to Baldwin EMC, a co-op that serves the area between Mobile, Alabama, and Pensacola, Florida, and includes Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.

More than 78,000 consumer-members of the co-op have lost electric service as a result of the storm. The figure represents 97 percent of the cooperative’s meters. Baldwin has requested at least 1,600 co-op crewmembers to help in the effort.

“Power restoration efforts will begin just as soon as conditions are safe,” said Mark Ingram, Baldwin EMC vice president of corporate services and public relations. He explained that Sally’s strong winds and heavy rains have damaged power lines and equipment. Reports of downed trees and power lines with numerous power poles broken are coming in from across the Baldwin service area. There was also damage to some transmission lines that feed power to the substations and equipment in some locations is under water.

In addition to co-op employees, Kentucky co-ops have already released dozens of construction and right-of-way contract crews to respond to Hurricane Sally, and in recent weeks to Hurricane Laura in Louisiana. Through a careful coordination of mutual aid from co-ops across the Midwest and Southeast, co-op crews are assigned to specific co-ops in need of assistance. On daily conference calls, safety teams from each state assess optimal deployments.

The top priority of each local Kentucky co-op is service to its own consumer-members. Before committing resources to mutual aid requests, each co-op ensures it has ample crews available for all local needs, including routine maintenance and emergencies.

The list of Kentucky electric cooperatives set to deploy lineworkers includes Clark Energy, Cumberland Valley Electric, Fleming Mason Energy, Jackson Purchase Energy Cooperative, Kenergy, Nolin RECC, Owen Electric, Salt River Electric, Shelby Energy, South Kentucky RECC, Warren Rural Electric and West Kentucky RECC.

Photos and video of Kentucky electric cooperative crews gearing up and deploying on Thursday, September 17, 2020 are available at this link.

“Any hurricane response presents long hours in challenging conditions, and the flooding being experienced in Alabama adds yet another complication,” said Chris Perry, President and CEO of Kentucky Electric Cooperatives. “By responding to natural disasters in other states, Kentucky co-op crews gain invaluable experience to help them respond to outages here at home. We are praying for the safety of co-op crews and the people they are helping.”

In addition, United Utility Supply Cooperative is responding to Hurricane Sally needs. The Kentucky-based co-op has implemented its storm emergency plan, providing round-the-clock support to meet the material needs of co-ops. Prior to Sally making landfall, UUS sent supplies to electric co-ops in the storm’s path and ordered additional storm emergency material from manufacturers. A UUS warehouse in Prattville, Alabama is fully staffed and responding as co-ops assess the damage.

Because the national network of transmission and distribution infrastructure owned by electric cooperatives is built to federal standards, line crews from any co-op in America can arrive on the scene ready to provide emergency support, secure in their knowledge of the system’s engineering.

Gulf Coast Electric Co-ops Brace for Floods, Outages From Hurricane Sally

Electric cooperatives along the Gulf Coast are ready to respond to potentially widespread power outages when Hurricane Sally makes landfall by Wednesday morning, bringing a deluge that could cause historic flooding.

Co-ops in Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle are expected to be hit hardest.

Sally is “likely to produce extreme life-threatening flash flooding through Wednesday along, and just inland, of the central Gulf Coast from the western Florida Panhandle to far southwestern Mississippi,” the National Hurricane Center warned Tuesday, adding that “historic flooding is possible.” The National Weather Service predicted the hurricane would dump 10 to 20 inches of rain across the region, with isolated spots receiving up to 30 inches.

Ron Stewart, senior vice president of communications at Electric Cooperatives of Mississippi, said the statewide association has been in constant contact with its member cooperatives and the co-ops are prepared to respond after Sally makes landfall. ECM has also been in contact with co-ops in other states in case outside crews are needed to help restore power.

“You never know how bad a hurricane is actually going to be until it hits, but you’ve got to be prepared,” Stewart said Tuesday. “You can’t be caught blindsided.”

For individual co-ops, getting ready for the hurricane means “making sure your vehicles are gassed up and loaded with the necessary equipment needed to restore power,” Stewart said.

“You also try to get word out to your membership to prepare for outages,” he said. “We’re definitely going to have some. And, it’s not safe to dispatch crews during the storm, so it may take some time to restore power. The vast majority of members understand that—they see what’s happening outside. But it never hurts to remind them.”

Widespread flooding could hamper crews after the hurricane has swept through, Stewart said.

“It’s hard to get crews out and about if we’ve got flooded highways and roads—even if the structures are still there.”

Some Mississippi co-op crews just recently returned home from helping Louisiana co-ops restore power after Hurricane Laura. Louisiana co-ops expect to be largely spared by Sally.

“I think the majority of our co-ops should be in the clear,” said Addie Armato, director of member engagement at the Association of Louisiana Electric Cooperatives. “It’s been a sigh of relief; it really has. Our hearts go out to our neighboring states because this is not easy.”

As they continue with post-Laura restoration efforts, Louisiana co-ops will assess whether they are able to send crews to help co-ops in neighboring states, Armato said.

In Alabama, Baldwin EMC in Summerdale activated its disaster response plan Tuesday and had closed its offices as weather conditions worsened.

“We’re currently responding to outages and will continue to do so, weather permitting,” said Mark Ingram, vice president of corporate services and public relations. “As conditions deteriorate, we’ll pull our employees from the field for their safety. As the storm passes, our crews will be ready to restore power again as safely and quickly as possible.”

The co-op has stockpiled additional supplies, including poles, transformers, wire and other essential equipment.

All 22 Alabama co-ops are keeping a close eye on Sally, said the Alabama Rural Electric Association of Cooperatives, citing the National Hurricane Center’s forecast of “dangerous storm surge, hurricane-force winds and flash flooding.” Alabama co-op crews are returning home from Louisiana after helping Beauregard Electric Cooperative Inc. restore power after Laura.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey closed the state’s beaches Monday and urged coastal residents to evacuate if possible. She said Alabama is “looking at record flooding.” Sally is expected to make landfall near Mobile Bay early Wednesday and move across central and south Alabama.

In Florida, Escambia River Electric Cooperative is preparing for the potential of major damage to its system.

“Our co-op may be significantly affected by high winds and heavy rainfall if Sally continues to intensify,” said CEO Ryan Campbell. “With safety as our top priority, we have activated our emergency response plan in anticipation of the storm. This includes contact with our statewide association to coordinate the arrival of additional utility crews should they be needed.”

The co-op urged its members to remain vigilant and prepare for possible outages.

“EREC has taken all precautionary measures, and our emergency preparedness team has confirmed that all preliminary requirements for the possibility of a major hurricane have been met,” Campbell said.

Erin Kelly is a staff writer at NRECA.