Platte-Clay Linemen Return from Hurricane Michael Recovery Effort
KEARNEY, Mo — A crew of six Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative linemen returned from the Florida panhandle last night after spending two weeks helping restore power to communities ravaged by Hurricane Michael.
The crew deployed as part of a coordinated effort by the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives to respond to a call for help by the Talquin Electric Cooperative of Quincy, Florida. At the peak of the crisis, around 50,000 homes and businesses were without power in the Talquin service area.
Due to the hard work of Platte-Clay’s linemen and hundreds of others from Missouri and other states, over 97% of the original outages have since been restored.
“Platte-Clay is proud to provide support to our fellow cooperatives in their times of need, just as they have done for us when tornadoes and ice storms have left major outages in the Northland,” said David Deihl, CEO and General Manager of Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative. “Our linemen made extraordinary sacrifices to help thousands who faced tragedy and devastation in the wake of Hurricane Michael, and we are proud of what they were able to accomplish.”
As they worked to restore service, Platte-Clay’s crew was met with warmth and gratitude from the Florida residents they were helping. On one occasion, the crew was greeted with homemade cookies and rice crispy treats from a group of neighborhood children. Later in the trip, fellow disaster response workers surprised one of the linemen with a cake to celebrate his birthday.
A Talquin Electric member expressed her gratitude for Platte-Clay’s crew in a Facebook comment: “You got my power on yesterday evening after 8 long hours just in our small neighborhood. We are ever so grateful for all your hard work.”
Another member wrote: “Huge thank you to all of your linemen and their families for the sacrifice being made to help all of our families down here!”
Photos and videos of the crew are available here for use.
About Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative
Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative (PCEC) serves more than 20,000 accounts and nearly 3,000 miles of energized line in Buchanan, Caldwell, Clay, Clinton, DeKalb, Platte, and Ray Counties, just north of metropolitan Kansas City, Missouri. PCEC was established in 1938 as part of the Rural Electrification Act, and today PCEC is among the fastest-growing cooperatives in the state of Missouri.
Learn more about PCEC and how we work to empower communities and energize life by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.