OGE crews take on critical tasks in restoring power to hurricane damaged Houston

 

Just a few days after a team of 105 OG&E line workers and support personnel deployed to south Texas, crews have been restoring power as quickly and safely as possible to areas affected by Hurricane Beryl. 

Since arriving, OG&E crews have been working 16-hour days assisting CenterPoint Energy in the Houston area with storm recovery efforts. So far, thousands of customers now have their power restored. 

OG&E’s current assignment is in Angleton, Texas, a Houston suburb, that was affected by high winds and flooding following Hurricane Beryl. Crews have been restoring power, removing dangerous obstacles and repairing essential electrical equipment. According to CenterPoint Energy’s outage tracker, over 2.2 million customers were initially left without power. 

One critical task OG&E has taken on is helping repair damage to equipment caused by oversaturated ground from the floods. High, rushing waters flowing through communities following heavy rains pushed poles over in the mud, leaving the circuits unsafe to re-energize until they are straightened. The OG&E team replaced or repaired 55 power poles, connecting equipment and lines to restore power. 

“As our crews restore power in the hot weather to more customers every day, the Angleton community has been helpful as we access difficult areas,” said Chris Bristol, OG&E Distribution Construction Manager. “The superintendent of Angleton schools has been extremely accommodating and allowed us to use their parking lots as a staging site for our trucks while customers have been stopping crews to provide them with snacks and water. It’s great to be welcomed with this hospitality while we work to bring back power.”  

Mutual assistance crews are typically deployed for up to 14 days. If more assistance is needed, OG&E will rotate in additional crews to relieve the current team. OG&E will maintain the capacity to support daily operations for customers in its service area throughout Oklahoma and western Arkansas.  

Source: press release