Power restored as area recovers from ice storm

New-Mac Electric Cooperative reports all of their customers were back on line Thursday afternoon.

Mark Rakes, New-Mac spokesman, said the cooperative completed its restoration efforts about 2:30 p.m. and returned to normal operations, after four days of repairs brought on by the icy weather.

"New-Mac is very thankful to its customers for their patience and understanding during this time," Rakes said in a prepared statement. "We're also grateful for the dedication and hard work put in by all of our employees, assisting cooperatives, brush crews and contract crews."

Rakes said the company is still in the field, beefing up its "quick fixes" with more sturdy repairs.

Last Sunday's ice storm was the second this year to hit the area. In January, ice blanketed the area, leaving residents without power for an extended period of time.

Rakes said he was surprised the area has had two ice storms this year.

"Some of us were just blown away in the utility industry," he said. "But with January's storm, we were more prepared for this one."

Those preparations came in the form of better communications - for instance, Rakes now carries two cell phones so he can use another in case he loses the signal on one - and better logistical planning.

"We were able to put the contract crews on alert and to find food and lodging for them in several places," he said. "I think the last storm was a surprise to everyone. We were just getting over the holidays. It came on and just stayed there."

Rakes said there was more advanced warning of this storm than in January. For instance, New-Mac monitored the storm since last Friday, and were able to make preparations beforehand.

Logistics are a big part of the process, Rakes said, with a lot of behind-the-scenes work involved in keeping crews working on fixing outages. For instance, while crews work, other New-Mac personnel are busy bringing food and hot beverages to them, as well as other needs.

"The last thing you want is for them to stop the whole process and run back and forth for food and whatnot," he said.

Rakes also said he wanted customers to realize that utility workers strive to get the power back on as quickly as possible, but also as safely as they can as well. He praised the line crews, brush crews and contract personnel.

"We've got a good bunch of people who work well together," he said. "It's like a well-oiled machine. We make steady strides to get the power back on. Steady and safely gets more people back on in the long run than rushing through it."

Rakes also praised the company's office staff, men and women who also put in long hours to answer the phones and talk with people, several of whom were under duress about the power situation.

"They work as many hours as the rest,"?Rakes said. "They come in at 7 in the morning, and stay until 9 at night. They trade off with some of the other workers and in the morning, everybody is there, as it's the biggest time for calls. It's when everybody wakes up."

Any customers still without power should call New-Mac at 451-1515 or toll-free at 800-322-3849.

Meanwhile, Empire District Electric Company is reporting that fewer than 26,000 customers throughout the system were without power as of 8 p.m. Thursday.

Spokeswoman Amy Bass said less than 10,000 customers were without service within the Joplin city limits, and power had been restored to 7,000 customers on Thursday.

"We believe that the major repair work to the transmission and distribution system will be completed by Friday evening," Bass said in a prepared statement. "Work will continue through the weekend to repair thousands of individual services."

Restoration work continues to be handled by Empire line and support employees who are assisted by more than 1,000 contact crew personnel. As crews work throughout urban and rural areas, Empire asks area residents to use caution as they move around these workers and their vehicles.

Bass said progress was slowed Thursday by additional outages caused by people removing tree limbs and debris. She said for their own safety, people should be mindful of power lines as they begin to clean up their personal property.

Neosho Daily News