For immediate release

Feb. 8, 2009 — 10:30 a.m.

Outages drop under 10,000 for electric cooperatives

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

Electric cooperatives fighting to repair storm-ravaged lines reduced the number of outages to 9,770 Saturday, Feb. 7, as the all-out repair effort continued without pause. Approximately 2,500 lineworkers are on the ground in the affected area, which is now confined to southeast Missouri.

Howell-Oregon Electric, West Plains, is down to just working scattered outages. Their goal is to finish restoration today.

Ozark Border Electric, Poplar Bluff, also saw its outage numbers reduced over the weekend. The cooperative now has 1,840 without power, down from nearly 28,000 at the height of the outage. Manager Stanley Estes says employees can see the light at the end of the tunnel and are anxious to reach it.

Hard hit SEMO Electric Cooperative, Sikeston, saw its outage numbers drop below 2,000 over the weekend. There are 750 linemen on the ground for the cooperative, with most focused in the southern Stoddard County area. Very few if any poles remained standing here in the wake of the storm. SEMO volunteers made 568 sack lunches for the workers on Saturday.

By far, the worst damage remains in the two Bootheel counties which are served by Pemiscot-Dunklin Electric Cooperative, Hayti. On Sunday morning, Manager Charles Crawford reported that roughly 6,000 members remained without power. Approximately 900 lineworkers have come to the aid of the cooperative’s employees, already the largest influx of help ever sent to a Missouri electric cooperative. Crawford says the cooperative is working on the logistics of bringing in another 110 workers and has a goal of more than 1,000 workers.

As the all-out repair effort continues, power was restored to an additional 100 members on Saturday, Feb. 7. In addition, the Caruthersville port facility now has power.

“We added up yesterday, and the men working have 6,000 poles changed out,” Manager Charles Crawford said. “We will hit 7,000 without any trouble.”

Progress, measured in miles of line, continued with another substation south of Portageville reenergized Saturday. The cooperative now has power to four of its 14 substations, the connection point between M&A Electric Power Cooperative’s transmission lines and Pemiscot-Dunklin’s distribution lines.

“We are making progress,” Crawford said. “We’ve got people just about everywhere now. Every substation is covered and we’ve got people in all those new towns we picked up making sure they are ready when we get power.”

He said repair work is almost complete in the Maplewood community, with crews finished changing out broken poles and restringing wire. “We’ve still got to hook up transformers and services but as far as the lines go, they are all back up. And it’s moving like that all across the system.”

With a goal of 1,000 workers assisting the cooperative’s staff, the challenge is finding housing and meals for this army. Materials continue to pour into the area and are being spotted in rural areas where they will be closest to the action.

“It’s looking a lot better,” Crawford said. “In another week it’s going to look pretty good. It won’t all be done, but it will look a lot better.”

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