As Hurricane Florence makes it way toward the Atlantic coast, several members of Missouri’s electric cooperatives are heading out to help restore power.
At the request of Santee Electric Cooperative in Kingstree, South Carolina, 162 Missouri cooperative line workers from 33 of the state’s electric cooperatives will be traveling to South Carolina to assist in the cleanup after the storm has passed. Missouri will be sending construction and service crews to help with the power restoration efforts.
Among the co-ops participating are Central Electric Cooperative in Jefferson City and Co-Mo Electric Cooperative in Tipton.
Currently, linemen from 11 states out of the hurricane’s path have been called in to help restore power once the storm passes. As soon as it is safe for them to mobilize, the crews will descend on Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina to help line workers in those states.
The Missouri crews will gather this morning to travel east so they’re closer to the area but still out of harm’s way until the storm passes Saturday evening.
Missouri electric cooperative crews first helped with hurricane relief efforts in 2004 when the Gulf Coast was hit by Hurricane Ivan. The most recent deployment was last year when crews traveled to Florida and Georgia following Hurricane Irma.
Missouri’s restoration efforts are being spearheaded by the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives. The Jefferson City-based association represents all 47 of Missouri’s electric cooperatives.