Cooperation Among Cooperatives

Oklahoma’s electric cooperatives send mutual aid assistance crews to assist Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida

Upon Hurricane Ida's landfall in Louisiana on Sunday, Aug. 29, Oklahoma's electric cooperatives promptly stepped up to offer their help. The storm left more than 1 million people in Louisiana without power and about 130,000 in Mississippi before moving on to affect those in the northeast parts of the U.S.

OEC was among seven distribution electric cooperatives in Oklahoma who sent mutual aid assistance crews to assist with restoration efforts in the weeks following the storm's destruction.

Oklahoma co-ops are working under the coordination of the Association of Louisiana Electric Cooperatives and have been assigned to assist sister cooperative DEMCO, based in the East Baton Rouge parish, a hard-hit area. DEMCO is the largest electric cooperative in Louisiana serving more than 113,000 members; its service area is comprised of 8,887 miles of line. As of Aug. 31, DEMCO reported 78,058 outages — nearly 69% of its membership remained without power. [8231390101]

Given the extended nature of the restoration period, line crews are likely to rotate in upcoming weeks, according to Derec Janaway, safety and loss control director for the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives.

According to the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), Oklahoma’s electric cooperatives join the mutual aid effort alongside crews from 32 states and the District of Columbia. In addition to the industry standard safety protocols, line crews will follow CDC guidelines in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Additional safety measures will be put in place to ensure crew members and consumers stay safe during restoration efforts.

OEC sent 13 of its lineworkers and a variety of trucks and equipment to assist DEMCO. They worked alongside 30 other Oklahoma lineworkers in Louisiana.

“Cooperation among cooperatives is one of the principles that guide electric cooperatives,” says Chris Meyers, general manager of the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives.

We are proud of the co-op crews that are lending a hand in this difficult time to help a sister cooperative. This is the cooperative difference at work.

Thank you to the following OEC team members who helped in the restoration efforts: Clifford Madden, Chris Croslin, Andy Bills, Brandon Sherwood, Jacob McFarlane, Trevor Gilroy, Nathan Foster, Josh Keen, Matt Caldwell, Tony Ramirez, Ben Cooper, Trevor Little and Ryan Trowbridge.