Six Tipmont REMC line workers will be part of an estimated 60 Indiana electric cooperative line workers heading to Georgia to assist in hurricane Irma recovery efforts. The line workers could be deployed for up to two weeks, depending on the damage caused by the storm.
As of this writing, the Indiana line workers are scheduled to assist Southern Rivers Energy in Barnesville, Georgia and Sumter EMC in Americus, Georgia. The assignments are subject to change based on need and response from other states.
Electric Cooperative line workers from northern Indiana will rendezvous at the Indiana Electric Cooperatives headquarters in Indianapolis at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. They will then join with southern Indiana and Michigan line workers at Clark County REMC in Sellersburg, Indiana before departing for Georgia.
“We take care of needs at home first, but our crews are eager to help those in need,” said Scot Price, operations manager at Tipmont REMC. “They take tremendous pride in representing Tipmont REMC and the state of Indiana. They represent us well with how hard, professionally and safely they work.”
Because the national network of transmission and distribution infrastructure owned by electric cooperatives has been built to federal standards, line crews from any American electric cooperative can arrive on the scene ready to provide support, secure in their knowledge of the system’s engineering.
“Every cooperative in the Indiana electric cooperative family is an integral part of a state and national network of hundreds of fellow cooperatives,” said Gayvin Strantz, vice president of job training and safety for Indiana Electric Cooperatives. “It is incumbent upon us to work together and help one another in times of disaster, to make sure our power delivery systems are repaired as quickly, safely and cost-effectively as possible.”
The efforts are made possible by Mutual Aid Agreements signed by electric cooperatives across the country. The agreements cover labor and equipment costs and meals and housing for the assisting linemen.
The Indiana electric cooperative mutual aid program is coordinated by Indiana Electric Cooperative’s job training and safety department and provides cooperative assistance in service restoration from storms or other events that result in significant power outages.
