Three journeymen electricians from Manitowoc Public Utilities have been at work in Florida since the weekend restoring power to those affected by category-4 Hurricane Ian.
The local electric workers are included in a 44-person contingent from the state as part of mutual storm aid by the Municipal Electric Utilities of Wisconsin and American Public Power Association.
Seehafer News spoke with Bob Bouril, Electric Distribution Superintendent with MPU.
Bouril said he talked with the local electricians yesterday morning from just south of Daytona Beach and they told him the biggest problem remains flooding.
“They have sent back some videos and they’re wading through water knee to waist deep to get some of these poles to re-energize what they can and fix the main feeder line which can pick up a thousand people at one point or another,” he explained. “It’s kind of a quick fix to get the most people on.”
Bouril went on to say that much of that area has underground transformers and distribution systems, so to get those back on line they’ll have to wait for floodwaters to recede.
We asked him about what he sensed was the mood of the electric crew.
“Their attitude is very positive,” Bouril reported. “It’s very rewarding for them when they can pick up a line segment and get the people back in power. It’s part of what keeps them going, a form of self-satisfaction that you get from helping another municipal and helping out the public in general.”
The MPU Electric Superintendent says the local crew may have released from their assignment yesterday afternoon and unless they are requested to help out in another area of the storm-stricken area, they could be back home in eastern Wisconsin by Thursday afternoon.
