Never any rest for a lineman. And that’s just what OG and E crews confirmed this week as a convoy of 50 trucks left for Lake Charles, Louisiana to eventually be shipped by barge to Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico still has major power issues following this past fall’s
hurricane Maria. Crews from Oklahoma Gas and Electric are part of an industry-led effort to restore power. More than a dozen other electric companies are mobilizing crews as part of the project at the request of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority.
The project is in conjunction with the Edison Electric Institute, the American Public Power Association and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
This was OGE’s initial execution in sending crews to Puerto Rico. The company’s trucks will be off-loaded in Puerto Rico and crews will fly later in January to the island territory.
In the more than 100 days since the hurricane, about half of the U.S. territory remains without electricity. The death toll continues to rise with some estimates at 1,000. The official death toll is 66 but last week two independent reports estimating the toll at a thousand prompted the government to say it will conduct a recount of the dead.
The damage that resulted from the 155-mile an hour winds and 30 inches of rainfall prompted the U.S. House of Representatives to approve a $36.5 billion disaster aid package for victims of Maria, along with those of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.