Co-op lineworkers mobilize to turn power back on after storms.
by Paul Newton | pnewton@ruralmissouri.coop
photos by Paul Newton and Ricki Spargo
Spring came in like a lion this year. Electric cooperatives across Missouri spent parts of March and April working to undo the damage Mother Nature left them after tornadoes, storms and flooding ravaged southern Missouri. Electric cooperative lineworkers banded together to work each storm until every co-op member had their power and broadband restored.
The most devastating string of storms hit late in the evening on Friday, March 14. Tornadoes touched down in southern Missouri, taking with them homes, churches, trees and anything else in their paths. In all, 10 tornadoes — with gusts up to 165 mph — were confirmed.
When the sun came up, co-ops started to see the daunting task they faced. At its peak, more than 35,000 electric co-op members in Missouri were without power. Crews quickly discovered what the story of this storm restoration would be: broken poles. The tornadoes broke 1,400 poles across the rolling hills and unpredictable terrain of the Ozarks, which would all need to be replaced.
West Plains-based Howell-Oregon Electric Cooperative lost a total of 437 poles, according to Dan Singletary, CEO/general manager. “In my 40-year career, this is the biggest storm I have been a part of as far as poles and financial cost,” Dan says. “As soon as we started assessing the damage, we knew we needed help.”
Dan and his counterparts at four other electric co-ops called Missouri Electric Cooperatives — the statewide association that represents all 47 Show-Me State electric cooperatives — requesting support from co-ops out of harm’s way. That activated the association’s emergency assistance program, which mobilized 140 additional lineworkers from across the state to help.
The lineworkers began arriving in West Plains the following day, giving a boost to those who knew the task at hand. “It’s an incredible feeling when you see the trucks rolling in,” says Dan. “Comfort isn’t the right word, but it puts you just a little bit at ease knowing that others have left their families to come and help.”
“Our co-ops know that if they are ever in need, help is just one call away,” says Johnie Hendrix, vice president of risk management and training for Missouri Electric Cooperatives. “The outages from this set of storms proved to be challenging to restore, however, Missouri’s cooperative lineworkers have trained to work safely in nearly any condition to turn members’ lights back on.”
At each of the five cooperatives hosting out-of-town lineworkers, safety was the key message, especially at the predawn breakfasts before the crews packed up for the day. Co-op leadership and safety personnel would go over the restoration plans and pass along local information, ensuring lineworkers, dispatchers and more were on the same page. At Black River Electric Cooperative in Fredericktown — where they also had more than 400 broken poles — crews would gather for a late-night dinner once their day was over. Co-op staff projected photos of the damage and restoration efforts from the day, giving the lineworkers a look at what their peers were facing.
Communication was key for co-ops as they kept their members informed of the restoration process. Through a combination of social media posts, news interviews, press releases, safety reminders and website updates, members kept up with the progress. Dan started each morning recording a video Howell-Oregon would post to Facebook detailing the progress and challenges his crews faced.
“At one point we had more than 6,300 members out and all those broken poles, so we knew this was going to be a multiday outage and we had to be clear in relaying that to our members,” he says. “They just appreciate the information. Even if it’s not happy or great information, it helps them understand the gravity of the situation and how seriously we’re taking it.”
In addition to Howell-Oregon and Black River, others receiving assistance were Ozark Border, Crawford and Intercounty electric cooperatives. Some crews first made repairs to their own system before being dispatched out to help. The final mutual assistance crews were sent home on Friday, March 21, one week after the tornadoes hit.
The lineworkers’ work is never done. Just a few weeks later, three cooperatives traveled to Pilot Grove to fix more than 50 broken poles for Co-Mo Connect following a tornado. The crews from Black River, Howell-Oregon and Intercounty would repay the favor and travel to SEMO Electric in Sikeston to restore power following heavy storms and flooding.
Restoring power after a storm is a combination of meticulous planning, problem-solving and teamwork. “It’s incredible to see it all come together,” says Dan. “We’ve got our emergency restoration plan that we can follow, but seeing everyone come to help and then our staff and volunteers figuring out breakfast, lunch, supper, hotel rooms and laundry for the guys. The man-hours and organization behind the scenes is incredible.”