Oconto Electric Cooperative employees join effort to restore power in South Carolina after Hurricane Helene

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Oconto Electric Cooperative employees join effort to restore power in South Carolina after Hurricane Helene

Members of Oconto Electric Cooperative are among 45 crew members from 15 Wisconsin electric cooperatives that left for South Carolina Thursday to assist communities

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Journeyman Ben Wilcox and apprentice Maguire Girtz are among the squad that will help some areas recover from massive devastation.

“In parts of South Carolina, where our Wisconsin crews are heading, it’s not just a restoration, but a complete rebuild,” said Rob Richard, Wisconsin Electric Cooperative Association (WECA) interim president and CEO, said in a press release. “Full substations, and the roads that lead to them, are completely washed away. Even the underground lines are gone.”

OEC said its members will assist Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative in Pickens, South Carolina, which has 60,000 of its 73,000 customers without power. More than 300 snapped poles will reportedly need to be replaced.

Crews are expected to be deployed about two weeks.

Besides Oconto, other electric cooperatives participating are Adams-Columbia, Barron, Bayfield, Chippewa Valley, Dairyland Power, Dunn, Eau Claire, Jump River, Oakdale, Price, Riverland, Rock, Scenic Rivers and Taylor. Additionally, a crew from Alger Delta Cooperative Electric Association, located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, joined the Wisconsin co-ops making the trip.

“Restoring power in this area is going to be a monumental effort,” said Tim Clay, WECA vice president of operations. “We offer our gratitude and appreciation for the crews heading south to assist with this crisis, who will be working in challenging conditions, including mountainous terrain and extensive flooding. The work will be physically challenging, with off-road restoration and a lot of climbing. Safety will be paramount as they work to assist in this unprecedented event.”

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette:

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