Mutual Aid Crews Moving to Lake Worth

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Mutual Aid Crews Moving to Lake Worth

September 14, 2017

One down, at least one more to go.

With the help of MMUA-coordinated crews from Minnesota municipal electric utilities, the lights are back on in the Public Power city of Kissimmee, Florida. A few small outages remained this morning, that will be handled by Kissimmee Utility Authority (KUA) staff.

KUA staff said they were very impressed with the Minnesota municipal electric crews, and were so very appreciative that the MMUA membership was able to help with the restoration. Thank you to the Minnesota municipals from everyone at KUA!

After breakfast this morning, courtesy of KUA, the Minnesota municipal crews will travel to the City of Lake Worth, located on the Atlantic coast, just south of West Palm Beach and North of Miami. This area was hit hard by Hurricane Irma. Lake Worth management reports they still have countless lines, poles and secondary services on the ground.

The Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA) remains in full restoration mode. FMEA said, at its worst, there were 800,000 total outages in Florida Public Power utilities. As of Thursday morning, power had been restored to 500,000 of those customers. 

The DOE reported that there are currently 3.5 million outages in Florida, 514,000 in Georgia, 60,000 in South Carolina, 28,000 in North Carolina.

While some crews are being reassigned, FMEA says it has no need for further electric crews to be sent from far afield. Crews from Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and North Carolina are wrapping up restoration in their states. They may be available to help in Florida by Friday. 

Public Power utilities are beginning to plan beyond their immediate needs to help cooperatives and investor owned utilities in the days to come. 

Traffic still remains a big issue, as does refueling. Steps are being taken to expedite these issues. Flooding also hampers travel in areas. 

Key West continues to experience primitive conditions with no water or sewer service and in need of electric supplies to rebuild the system. Trucks and materials are moving into the Keys, however. Some utilities that rely on Duke Energy transmission are 100 percent without power. 

Conditions remain dire in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.