Electric cooperatives lend help to storm-stricken Mississippi

  • January 28, 2026

 

Okla.’s electric co-ops send mutual crews to assist Mississippi following Winter Storm Fern

Eleven electric cooperatives in Oklahoma are collectively sending 84 linemen to assist Tallahatchie Valley Electric Power Association following devastating damage from Winter Storm Fern. The co-op serves 27,000 meters across nine rural counties in northern Mississippi.

Winter Storm Fern swept across more than 30 states, bringing snow, ice, sleet, and freezing rain that knocked out power to over 1 million consumers at the storm’s peak. In Mississippi, roughly 160,000 electric cooperative members were left without electricity as heavy ice crippled the system—snapping power lines and poles and sending trees crashing onto wires.

Nationwide, electric cooperatives from more than 20 states are providing mutual aid assistance to impacted co-ops, according to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

Crews from Oklahoma’s electric cooperatives left on January 28 and are expected to lend a hand for as long as needed with rotating crews.

Crews from the following electric cooperatives have dispatched mutual aid:

  • Canadian Valley Electric Cooperative, Seminole
  • Central Rural Electric Cooperative, Stillwater
  • CKenergy Electric Cooperative, Binger
  • Cotton Electric Cooperative, Walters
  • Indian Electric Cooperative, Cleveland
  • Kay Electric Cooperative, Blackwell
  • Lake Region Electric Cooperative, Hulbert
  • Northeast Oklahoma Electric Cooperative, Vinita
  • Ozarks Electric Cooperative, headquartered in Fayetteville, Arkansas, serving meters in Oklahoma
  • People’s Electric Cooperative, Ada
  • TCEC, Hooker

“Our thoughts are with our sister cooperatives in Mississippi and all states affected by this devastating storm. Cooperation among cooperatives is a guiding principle of our network, and we are honored to stand alongside our fellow co-ops in this critical effort,” said Nicki Fuller, general manager of the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives. “We commend our lineworkers for selflessly leaving their homes to support rural communities in Mississippi during this difficult time, and we wish them a safe journey and a safe restoration process.”

Jerry Bohnen