CoServ responds to Hurricane Helene
UPDATE: October 30
The lights are back on for Washington EMC members in Georgia, thanks in part to the hard work by nearly 40 CoServ linemen and support crews.
The second group returned home on Oct. 19 after 10 days of working to restore power in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
“It’s always nice to see the people and how friendly they are,” said Journeyman lineman Dustin Bailey. “You’ve got people who don’t have anything going for them right now. Their house is gone, things missing [like their] animals. Everything has gone wrong, but they’re out there seeing what you need.”
Dustin has responded to several hurricanes, ice storms and other events over the years. He’s also on CoServ’s Texas Lineman’s Rodeo team. Both make him proud to work for CoServ.
“When there’s an opportunity to do something like the Lineman Rodeo, it’s fun but at the same time you are going to represent your company. And that’s the same for these storms,” Dustin said. “There were a lot of crews who got sent home because they didn’t need them anymore but they kept us for a reason.”
It comes down to two words: teamwork and integrity.
“We’re hard workers and everything, but it’s the people we bring to the table,” Dustin said. “Everybody out there gets tired, ran down even at the rodeo or during everyday work. But at the end of the day, I’d say most of our people have a smile on their face, and a positive attitude and that carries a long way.”
Dustin was paired with some apprentice linemen he doesn’t typically work with, including Peyton Johnston, who’s worked here for about a year.
“You get jumbled together and it doesn’t matter who it is, it always seems to work every time,” Dustin said.
Peyton said he enjoyed the camaraderie.
“Everyone knows what they’re supposed to do. It was nice to get to know them and the rest of guys who were there,” Peyton said. “You’d also go to the gas station and someone would spark up a conversation with you and ask you where you’re from and say thanks for helping.”
Lineman Eddie Lopez was part of the initial mutual aid group that left CoServ headquarters for Georgia on Sept. 26 before Helene made landfall. They were initially routed to Sawnee EMC, north of Atlanta, but the storm missed that co-op so the convoy headed southeast to Washington EMC, which had taken a direct hit.
“There were a bunch of broken poles and wire laying down on the ground,” Eddie said. “We had to splice all the wire, set new poles and get the wire for the feeder back up in the air. From there we started working on single phase taps. Then it was working on transformers and secondary services.”
Linemen take pride in restoring power to people but initially there was no power to the substation so they couldn’t turn the lights on. Also, the rural nature of the area meant there were miles of line between meters.
“You’d work all day and you wouldn’t see the outages drop because you’re working on miles of feeders,” Eddie said. “Eventually, we’d start to see more people come back on.”
In the evening, the crews drove 40 minutes to a hotel in Millsville that had power. Washington EMC provided hot breakfast at their headquarters, brought lunch to the job site and fed the workers dinner in the evening.
This was Eddie’s first mutual aid experience with CoServ and said he’d volunteer to do it again.
“Everyone was very friendly, they’d thank us, they’d drive by, wave and honk. Brought us water and food,” Eddie said. “The church down the road said we can use their restrooms so that was nice. Some would just come out there and watch us work.”
Finally, the substation was energized and power started flowing on all the lines our linemen had repaired.
“People were hooting and hollering. Excited. Jumping up and down,” Eddie said. “People are very appreciative and you’re helping out a community that just went through something [major].”
Apprentice lineman Jace Wilson said the exhilaration when the electricity came back made it all worth it.
“It was very exciting when you see a family who has been off for four or five days up to two weeks, and you get them back on they’re very thankful for what we do for them,” Jace said.
UPDATE: October 18
A convoy of CoServ bucket trucks and support vehicles left Washington EMC at 5 a.m. Friday morning on the way back to Texas.
The crews have been providing mutual aid to Washington EMC for a week and a half in the wake of Hurricane Helene. The 900-mile journey will take about 18 hours.
They plan to spend the night in Louisiana Friday night and arrive in North Texas Saturday morning.
This officially completes three weeks of mutual aid by CoServ crews. In total, two groups totaling 39 Employees worked 16-hour days to restore power to Washington EMC Members in southeast Georgia.
The first group came home last week. Thank you to all our Employees who spent time away from their homes and families for this critical effort.
Photos courtesy of Andrew Pierce | CoServ Lineman
UPDATE: October 14
CoServ linemen crews continue to provide mutual aid for Washington EMC in Georgia.
The remaining mutual aid crews were released by Washington EMC on Sunday.
CoServ crews will be the only ones working on the system today. There are minimal outages and the remaining work is the type our crews are equipped for, said Shea Hassell, Senior Vice President of Field Operations.
CoServ remains in contact with Florida's statewide service to provide mutual aid for a co-op recovering from Hurricane Milton. They currently have enough crew coverage for current outages, Shea said.
This current group of linemen left CoServ headquarters on Oct. 8. The original group that CoServ sent to Georgia returned Thursday, Oct. 10 after being gone for two weeks.
Stay tuned for updates.
UPDATE: October 9
With power restoration efforts continuing in Georgia and Hurricane Milton looming over Florida, CoServ sent 20 Employees east Wednesday to relieve our crews who are already there.
The crews, consisting of 18 linemen, an operations manager and a fleet technician, left CoServ headquarters at 4 a.m. Wednesday. They will provide mutual aid to Washington EMC. The crews who have been gone since Sept. 26 will head back to Texas first thing Thursday.
Washington EMC has about 1,500 meters without power, down from more than 14,000 when CoServ and other co-ops arrived. When CoServ is released by Washington EMC, we will look to Florida Electric Cooperative Association (FECA) to identify a co-op in need of aid.
UPDATE: October 4
CoServ crews completed repairs and energized the mainline feeders of all three circuits coming from their assigned substation. Although this was dozens of miles of line, due to the population density, they estimate that only around 100 members were restored. Our crews are now going back through the feeders and working on the single-phase laterals. Extensive tree removal to untangle lines and gain access is a large part of why restoration is a slow process. Continue to keep our crews in your thoughts and prayers!
Washington EMC is down to 3,957 of 15,961 members without power.
Photos courtesy of CoServ Lineman
UPDATE: October 3
CoServ reached out to Washington EMC's Chad Davis, the Vice President of Finance and Administration, for an update on CoServ's crews working in southeast Georgia. Here's what he said:
"Your crews have had some of the more complicated outages. They spent an entire day on one street that had extensive damage with a handful of broken poles and trees down everywhere, one was even over a car. They have been close to town for most of the work they have done. CoServ crews have been vital in getting some of the harder hit areas right around the city limits of Sandersville."
Photos courtesy of Washington EMC/Facebook
UPDATE: September 30
CoServ crews helped restore power near one of Washington EMC's substations last night, turning the lights on for members just days after Hurricane Helene hit that area.
But the damage is extensive with more than 9,500 of the co-op's 15,957 members still without power.
CoServ is already preparing three additional crews who will relieve the existing crews next Tuesday, if needed.
Mutual aid is a critical part of the cooperative business model and this is the perfect example of our dedication to that principle.
UPDATE: September 27
CoServ linemen crews are being rerouted to Sandersville in southeast Georgia to provide mutual aid to Washington EMC. The electric co-op has 15,600 meters in its service area. Hurricane Helene knocked out power to an estimated 14,000 meters this morning.
CoServ was originally assigned to assist Sawnee EMC north of Atlanta but that area wasn't hit nearly as hard as anticipated. On the other hand, Sandersville, southeast of Atlanta, took a direct hit from Helene. CoServ crews spent the night in Alabama to ride out the storm and are in Georgia heading to Sandersville.
Stay tuned to this page for updates.
September 26
For the second time this year, CoServ is sending linemen to restore power after a hurricane.
At 4 a.m. Thursday, three crews left CoServ headquarters on their way to Georgia where they will provide mutual aid to Sawnee EMC. The co-op is in the path of Hurricane Helene. In total, the restoration team consists of 19 Employees, who will be away from their families and homes to help others.
Hurricane Helene is forecasted to be a Category 4 storm when it makes landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida Thursday night. The storm brings the threat of heavy rains, flooding, tornadoes and a massive storm surge along the coastal areas.
From there, the storm is predicted to go inland through the Florida panhandle and into Georgia where it could hit Atlanta and surrounding areas. Sawnee EMC, a 200,000-meter electric co-op north of Atlanta, is in the path of the storm.
Sawnee put out a call for mutual aid and CoServ responded, sending a convoy of men and equipment east. They drove through the day Thursday and spent the night in Alabama to ride out the storm before heading to Cumming, Georgia where Sawnee is based.
The fleet consists of four big bucket trucks, two digger trucks, a pole trailer, two crane bodies, one mule, three service bucket trucks and four pickup trucks.
Please keep CoServ crews and everyone in the path of this deadly storm in your hearts.
Check back on this page for updates.
Hurricane Helene Storm Relief - Crews leave for Georgia to assist Sawnee EMC