CoServ responds to Hurricane Helene
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