By Bethaney Phillips
Three employees of Clay Center Public Utilities Commission left early morning on October 8th for Orlando, FL. As requested by the Orlando Utilities Commission, planning for linemen on the ground once the hurricane has passed.
They will be in Florida for one to two weeks, helping to restore power to the area.
The request came through the American Public Power Association, of which CCPU and OUC are members. The APPA relays the Mutual Aid request down the individual state public power agencies. In Kansas, that request went out to the Kansas Municipal Utilities located in McPherson , KS. KMU then organizes the mutual aid effort with its membership of 118 cities in Kansas. The association has more than 1.3 million customers in Florida that are in the path of Hurricane Milton, said Scott Glaves, Public Utilities Superintendent.
“They’ve been through enough hurricanes they do it the right way,” said Glaves. “They get them there before so there’s not days wasted on travel.”
He added that this is the second time CCPUC has responded to help in the Florida area.
The Clay Center employees, who all volunteered, will stay in hotels and receive meals and transportation from the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC). Fuel tankers are scheduled to fill up linemen trucks if there’s a gas shortage, and during travel, DOT fees are waived. This also speeds up the travel process, Glaves said.
As the speed of the hurricane slowed, Glaves said that also changed travel and report times, prompting the need for additional hotel stays.
“We have a plan and it keeps changing as it goes. It makes things challenging. We’ll see what the damage is, hopefully it weakens,” he said ahead of the storm.
To help combat hurricane-force winds, Glaves said many Florida power poles are made from concrete, however, that’s a reinforcement rarely seen in residential areas.
Equipped with flame resistant (or FR) clothing, the workers will receive a safety brief on venomous snakes and spiders that are native to the area.
“There’s a lot of unknonws when you’re on somebody else’s system,” he said. “It’s the same safety protocol and they keep you moving to the next call or line that’s down to make things much more efficient.”
He added that traveling linemen will be led by a “bird dog” or employee of OUC to explain the ins and outs of local power. Workers are likely in for 15-16-hour days. But in total, workload and length of time just depends on the damage, Glaves said.
“When the power goes out it kind of creates an apocalypse, it could take years with massive damage,” he said. In Kansas we don’t think about that, no fuel no lodging. Hopefully they are quick to get assistance in there.”
