Wiregrass Electric Cooperative responds to Hurricane Michael

Matt Boster

Viewed: 3372

Posted by: Matt Boster
Date: Oct 11 2018 4:32 PM

HARTFORD, Alabama — Hurricane Michael left thousands without power throughout the Wiregrass, but restoration is already

underway.

“It took years to build our electric system, and Hurricane Michael destroyed much of it in hours,” said Brad Kimbro, Chief

Operating Officer at Wiregrass Electric Cooperative. “But, we began to rebuild the moment the storm passed. Last night our

crews worked to assess damage and to repair what they could. This morning, they’re joined by over 130 linemen from across

the state who have come to help us restore power to our members.”

As of Thursday morning, WEC had 14,500 members without power. At the peak of the storm, 18,000 were out. Many outages

are a result of other utilities’ transmission lines not being operable. “Other utilities have equipment that feeds into ours, and

some did not start work on repairs until this morning,” said Kimbro. We’re waiting for the reports from these companies before

we have a complete picture of the restoration times for our members.”

Kimbro urges all members to understand that rebuilding this infrastructure will take time, and some outages will be measured

in days instead of hours. “We have a lot of complex build-outs to replace, trees to cut, and poles to rebuild,” he said. “We are

working as quickly and safely as possible, but this will not be a quick and easy fix.”

WEC wants to thank the cooperatives who have sent or are sending crews to help restore power: Sand Mountain, Cherokee,

Marshall-DeKalb Electric, Baldwin, Central Alabama, Covington, Cullman, Joe Wheeler, North Alabama, Southern Pine and

Tombigbee Electric cooperatives.

For live updates on the number of outages and their location, visit wiregrass.coop/electric/outage/outage-map/.

WEC members can report outages by calling 1-888-469-6882 or by downloading the Wiregrass Electric mobile app. Members

can also receive updates by liking WEC’s Facebook page, but Kimbro says it is much more effective if members report

outages through the toll-free number or through the mobile app and not through social media.

<- back