A hundred Oklahoma Gas and Electric workers returned home from nearly a week helping with power restoration following a deadly storm in Houston, Texas, just in time for deadly weather in Oklahoma.
It was Friday when the line workers and staff arrived in Oklahoma and Arkansas after restoring electricity to thousands of customers in the Baytown and Katy, Texas, areas.
OG&E crews deployed last Saturday, May 18 at the request of CenterPoint Energy and began working Sunday morning. According to CenterPoint Energy’s outage map, nearly 922,000 customers initially had no power in the aftermath of the powerful storms.
OG&E crews worked 16-hour days restoring power in Baytown, Texas, a coastal suburb in Harris and Chambers counties that was affected by severe weather, which included Category 2 Hurricane-like winds and tornadoes. Crews safely and quickly worked to restore power, remove storm debris and repair essential electrical equipment.
“Our line crews and support staff gave their time and energy to ensure that Houston-area residents got their lights back on as quickly as possible. With high temperatures across south Texas this week, power restoration was critical to the health and safety of all in the area, and our line crews took that charge seriously, working nonstop,” said Chad Guthrie, OG&E Director of Distribution Construction. “It’s clear that our line crews are among the hardest working individuals out there, and I can’t express my gratitude enough for their time and sacrifice.”
OG&E provided its assistance to CenterPoint Energy through its membership in the Midwest Mutal Assistance and Southeast Electrical Exchange, which dispatches mutual assistance teams in case of widespread outages.
With more severe weather in the forecast across the OG&E service area, the local electric company has resources and personnel ready to support daily operations for customers in Oklahoma and western Arkansas.
Source: presss release