For immediate release
Contact: Jim McCarty
(573) 659-3402
(573) 680-2451

Dec. 13, 2007 — 11:15 a.m.

Storm restoration continues

View the latest information about Missouri co-op systems affected by the ice storm.

Across Missouri’s northernmost tier of counties, strong winds met ice-laden trees reversing much of the hard work done Wednesday by electric cooperative crews. Still, statewide outage numbers steadily declined to around 15,000 by Thursday morning. And several electric cooperatives report all members back in service after crews worked all night.

“It was going real good, and then the wind picked up on us,” says Dave Ramsey, manager of Tri-County Electric, Lancaster. “We had really made some good progress. Our outages were under 500. But we are dealing with a good half-inch of ice.”

At Tri-County and elsewhere in the state, additional linemen are pouring into the all-out restoration effort as neighboring co-ops get power restored and are able to spare crews. Crews from Boone Electric, for example, are headed to the Tri-County area after getting all local members back on Wednesday night. There are now 245 linemen from electric cooperatives in Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska assisting those co-ops affected by the storm. In addition, many cooperatives have contractors adding to their local crews.

Eight cooperatives reported restoration efforts are complete or nearing completion Thursday morning. Boone Electric, Columbia; Consolidated Electric, Mexico; Farmers’ Electric, Chillicothe; Three Rivers Electric, Linn; New-Mac Electric, Neosho; Ozark Electric, Mount Vernon; and Southwest Electric, Bolivar have restored power. In addition, several systems say outages today number in the hundreds instead of the thousands.

Two southern Missouri co-ops, Barton County, Lamar, and Sac Osage, El Dorado Springs, are still facing major outages. At Sac Osage, Assistant Manager Jim Davis said the co-op got hammered “with a 16-pound hammer.” Crews there are reporting that 50-foot trees located well behind the cleared right of way are falling across lines under the weight of the ice.

Sac Osage was joined by four additional crews coming in from Arkansas overnight. These latest additions doubled the co-op’s usual workforce.

There are also several thousand outages remaining at two central Missouri co-ops, Co-Mo Electric, Tipton, and Callaway Electric, Fulton. With 100 linemen on the job, Co-Mo expects to have 98 percent of its members restored by Thursday evening. Callaway’s efforts are focused on secondary feeder lines, the final step in restoring power.

The worst outage situation remains in northwest Missouri, where United Electric, Maryville has 6,000 members without power. This co-op serves where the second wave of ice was focused. Other north Missouri co-ops reporting outages include Atchison-Holt, Rockport, 1,000 out; Grundy Electric, Trenton, 1,000 out; and North-Central Missouri Electric, Milan, with 600 out.

North of Kansas City, Platte-Clay Electric is mopping up with outages under 500. Those final reconnects are progressing slowly as heavy, ice-covered brush hinders access to broken lines.

“It's going to be slow going,” said Mike Torres, Platte-Clay general manager. “It could take an hour or two to clear the trees and brush away from one location so we can repair the line or replace the pole in that particular spot. And the line or other poles may be damaged elsewhere leading to that service location. Our progress may be slower because we average about seven members-per-mile, high for a rural electric cooperative, but low compared to urban electric systems.

“On the bright side, we're under 500 outages," Torres said, "and 15 of the outages affect almost 300 members. But the other side of that coin is some 90 outages affect just under 200 people. We still can not give anyone an accurate time that their service will be back on; there are just too many variables.”

Those co-ops that have completed restoration efforts remind consumers that additional outages could occur as damaged trees fall across lines. They encourage members who find themselves without power to call the office as some could have been missed.

They also ask that members do not clear storm debris from around power lines. Any downed line should be considered live and dangerous, even if there is no power to the member’s home.

Latest outage estimates

Atchison-Holt Electric Cooperative, Rockport: 1,000
Barton Electric Cooperative, Lamar: 1,100
Boone Electric Cooperative, Columbia: Restoration complete
Callaway Electric Cooperative, Fulton: 1,000
Consolidated Electric Cooperative, Mexico: Restoration complete
CoMo Electric Cooperative, Tipton: 2,000
Cuivre River Electric Cooperative, Troy: Restoration complete
Farmers’ Electric Cooperative, Chillicothe: Restoration complete
Grundy Electric Cooperative, Trenton: 1,000
New Mac Electric Cooperative, Neosho: Restoration complete
North Central Missouri Electric Cooperative, Milan: 600
Ozark Electric Cooperative, Mt. Vernon: Restoration complete
Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative, Kearney: 600
Sac Osage Electric Cooperative, El Dorado Springs: 1,300
Southwest Electric Cooperative, Bolivar: Restoration complete
Three Rivers Electric Cooperative, Linn: Restoration complete
Tri-County Electric Cooperative, Lancaster: 1,000
United Electric Cooperative, Maryville: 6,000

For more information, contact Jim McCarty at the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives — (573) 635-6857, ext. 3402, jmccarty@amec.org.

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