More Public Service Company of Oklahoma employees were sent to Puerto Rico this week to help restore electrical power to the island months after Hurricane Maria devastated the place.
A dozen workers flew out of Tulsa and are part of a group of nearly 70 frontline PSO employees and sister companies across the AEP system helping in the massive restoration project.
PSO indicated the 12 workers traveled to Caguas, a remote and mountainous and heavily impacted region of thee country. Trucks and equipment were shipped by barge and arrived earlier this week. Two other PSO workers arrived earlier in the week to make preparations for the arrival of the 12 others.
Cliff Elliott, distribution system supervisor in Atoka, is leading PSO’s team. He says he expects they will work 12 to 15 hours a day, seven days a week for the next 30-45 days.
“We’re honored to have the opportunity to help bring power back to the people of Puerto Rico,” said Elliott. “We will miss our families and friends, but the conditions in Puerto Rico are dire, and they need power restored as quickly as possible. We have the expertise to do that, and we are happy to be able to help.”
The hurricane hit Puerto Rico on Sept. 20, 2017 and left 3.6 million people without power.
The American Public Power Association, the Edison Electric Institute, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and their member companies have been working together to support the mission of restoring power for the citizens of Puerto Rico, following a request by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA). AEP and its subsidiaries are among several U.S. mainland energy companies providing resources and workers to PREPA.
