For immediate release

Feb. 2, 2009 — 4 p.m.

Electric co-ops make progress

View the latest information about Missouri co-op systems affected by winter storms.

Though mud and muck continue to wreak havoc on recovery efforts, Missouri’s rural electric cooperatives are making grounds on repairing the damage caused by last week’s ice storm, and one system is reporting that electrical service has been restored.

As of mid-afternoon today, an estimated 19,000 members in the south-central Ozarks and Bootheel regions of the state remain without power, down from more than 24,000 reported this morning.

“We are making progress and getting new lines built,” said Mike Marsch, director of Member Services for the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives. “We’ve brought in (bull)dozers and tracked equipment to help speed the process.”

White River Valley Electric Cooperative, Branson, which started the day with 140 members without electricity, now reports that all members able to receive power are back on.

SEMO Electric Cooperative, Sikeston, made the largest gains of the day, restoring service to roughly 2,500 of 8,000 members who were without power this morning. Another 2,000 members of Howell-Oregon Electric Cooperative, West Plains, and 500 members of Pemiscot-Dunklin Electric Cooperative, Hayti, also regained electricity, decreasing the outages in those systems to 2,500 and 6,000, respectively. At Ozark Border Electric Cooperative, Poplar Bluff, about 5,000 members remained without electricity.

Currently, more than 1,000 co-op employees and contractors are working to restore power. Co-ops from regions of Missouri not affected by the storm have rotated crews they’ve sent to assist, and in some cases, they have sent additional crews. Co-op linemen from Mississippi and Iowa also have joined the restoration effort.

Outage totals as of 3 p.m., Feb. 2 are as follows:

Howell-Oregon, West Plains: 2,500
Ozark Border, Poplar Bluff: 5,000
Pemiscot-Dunklin: 6,000
SEMO, Sikeston: 5,500
White River Valley, Branson: RESTORED

TOTAL: 19,000

For a look at how your co-op typically goes about the task of restoring electric service, visit http://www.amec.org/poweron.html

  -30-

Editor's Note: For media inquiries, contact Jim McCarty at 573-680-2451