REC crews and contractors continue the grueling task of making repairs and restoring service after the devastating impact of Winter Storm Frida.
The storm knocked out power to more than 90,000 member-owners, broke dozens of poles and inflicted widespread damage on the electric grid. Treacherous driving conditions, including the closure of many primary roads and highways, further affected crews in their restoration efforts. In some cases, crews spent hours cutting trees just to access a road leading to a damage site.
As a result of newly discovered damage sites and road conditions, REC now anticipates the majority of outages will be restored by the end of the weekend. Some scattered outages will continue into next week.
With the addition of hundreds of mutual-aid crews from Missouri, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina, Florida and Georgia, REC’s workforce now totals more than 1,000. An additional 100-plus field workers have been requested.
“The heavy wet snow – as much as a foot in many places – coupled with 40-mph winds made this one of the worst winter storms in many years,” said Casey Hollins, Managing Director – Communications and Public Relations.
“Crews will work around the clock as quickly and safely as they can to make repairs and restore service,” Hollins said. “We recognize this is a significant hardship for many families, and we don’t like that. Our member-owners are also our friends, neighbors and - in many cases - our families. We are grateful for everyone’s patience as we work to restore all power.”
As a safety reminder, please stay clear of any downed power lines and anything that might be in contact with the line.
Some counties are now offering warming centers for residents who remain without power. For more details on those centers – and to find the latest list of REC work locations – please visit myrec.coop.
