Cooperatives in Alabama ready to respond to Hurricane Michael

Oct. 10, 2018 – Alabama’s rural electric cooperatives are preparing to send almost 160 individuals to sister co-ops in southeast Alabama who have requested help in response to the outages and damage expected from Hurricane Michael.

As of Wednesday morning, the Alabama co-ops do not have any out-of-state assistance scheduled. But leaders and safety staffers of the Alabama Rural Electric Association (AREA) will continue to monitor the situation, make sure the systems’ needs are being met and coordinate mutual aid efforts.

If the outages in Alabama are manageable, the crews may be sent to co-ops in Florida and Georgia to help there, but that determination will be after the damage in Alabama co-op service areas has been assessed.

The following co-ops in southeastern Alabama will receive assistance:

Wiregrass EC, headquartered in Hartford, will be receiving help from Sand Mountain, Marshall DeKalb, Cherokee, Baldwin, Central Alabama, Covington, Cullman, Joe Wheeler, North Alabama, Southern Pine, Tombigbee and Pioneer electric cooperatives.

Pea River EC, headquartered in Ozark, will be receiving help from Dixie, Clarke-Washington and Black Warrior electric cooperatives.

South Alabama EC, headquartered in Troy, will be receiving help from Coosa Valley and Tallapoosa River electric cooperatives.

AREA staff will be in the field, in the Montgomery office and at the state EMA office in Clanton to assist the cooperatives as needed. The assistance will consist of service crews, construction crews, right-of-way personnel and warehouse managers.

Once the Wiregrass, Pea River and South Alabama co-ops have determined that their service areas are in the clear, they are willing to send their own crews to other areas that have been hit hard by the hurricane.

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

Contact: Lenore Vickrey or Allison Law, 334-215-2732