TIPTON, Mo. - A massive restoration effort involving more than 150 linemen from around the state was set for completion Saturday evening in Co-Mo Electric Cooperative's service territory.
Just after 5 p.m., the outage count had dropped to 24, and Senior Service Planning Technician Brian Hunsburger said he expected all members' electricity to be restored by the end of the night.
The final restorations capped off five days of work that brought electricity back to more than 13,000 members in the wake of a massive winter storm that dumped more than a foot of heavy, wet snow on Co-Mo's service territory. High winds coupled with that snow to break poles and bring down lines.
Ken Johnson, the cooperative's CEO and General Manager, praised the Co-Mo team and the linemen from the 19 other electric utilities that came to assist. He also thanked the members for their patience.
"This was one of the most difficult situations this cooperative has ever faced and our team stepped up," he said. "Through it all, our members remained overwhelmingly positive and supportive. Their messages of prayers and support brought a lot of comfort to our team, and we won't ever forget that."