Alabama crews restore power to more than 70% of Baldwin EMC system

Crews from Alabama’s rural electric cooperatives, aided by linemen from 11 other states, are continuing to make progress in restoring service to areas served by Baldwin EMC hit hard by Hurricane Sally. 

As of 9:30 a.m., Monday, Baldwin EMC announced it has restored power to approximately 56,000 meters, more than 70% of its system. The cooperative now has 21,870 meters remaining without power due to Hurricane Sally. Of the 100 total circuits on the system, 94 now have power.

These numbers may fluctuate as crews are working in the field. This is not unusual during power restoration after a major storm.

OUTAGES BY AREA• North of Interstate 10: 6,198 total meters restored, 425 meters without power; all circuits restored• Between Interstate 10 and U.S. Highway 98 going east/west: 13,398 total meters restored, 5,683 meters without power; all circuits restored• South of U.S. Highway 98: 36,690 total meters restored, 15,762 meters without power; 6 circuits without power

Alabama Rural Electric Association (AREA) has coordinated the massive mutual aid response involving Baldwin EMC employees, along with nearly 1,400 other line workers from 11states, to restore power as safely and quickly as possible. AREA has  coordinated movement of co-op crews from Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina,South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi and Texas, according to Matty Garr, vice president of statewide services for AREA.

Sally’s strong winds and heavy rains have damaged power lines and equipment. There was also damage to some transmission lines that feed power to the substations and equipment in some locations was under water, creating problems with corrosion. Baldwin EMC had approximately 2,000 broken poles, 1,200 broken crossarms, 4,160 spans of downed wire and almost 4,300 trees on lines. 

Alabama’s 22 rural electric cooperatives deliver power to more than 1 million people, or a quarter of the state’s population, and they maintain more than 71,000 miles of power line.