PENSACOLA, Fla. - Oct. 7, 2008 - Residents and officials in areas affected by hurricanes Ike and Gustav are commending efforts by Gulf Power crews who have been working during September with local utilities to restore power in Louisiana and Texas.

“Our work ethic and safety habits impressed the utilities we went to help,” said Gulf Power’s Scott Lee, who was a team leader for a 54-person crew that worked 13 consecutive days in Alvin, Texas, for Texas New Mexico Power Company after Hurricane Ike. “Our crew did a great job working from sunrise to sundown in areas with lots of wind damage.”

The city of 20,000 residents south of Houston was completely without power after the hurricane hit. Trees were blown onto power lines and poles were knocked over, and debris in the streets made it difficult for bucket trucks to maneuver. The area hadn’t experienced a hurricane in about 25 years. Also, differences in the way the electrical system is built means Gulf Power crews are working in unfamiliar situations. For instance, most of the residential power lines in Alvin, Texas, are behind houses instead of along the streets.

Nick Mills, a lineman who works out of the Gulf Power Fort Walton Beach office, worked as part of the team in areas with heavy tree damage and lots of debris. He explained that working the back lots meant crews had to climb poles to restore transformers and wires since they couldn’t use the bucket trucks.

Texas New Mexico Power credits Gulf Power crews ‑ who received a Certificate of Appreciation from city officials ‑ for being able to get power back on in just two weeks. Residents also are sending thanks by letter and email. “They were some of the nicest people we’ve dealt with,” Mills said.

Texas New Mexico Power credits Gulf Power crews ‑ who received a Certificate of Appreciation from city officials ‑ for being able to get power back on in just two weeks. Residents also are sending thanks by letter and email.

Earlier in September, a 51-person storm team worked in Louisiana for Central Louisiana Electric Company following Hurricane Gustav. Also, two teams worked in Louisiana and Texas helping Entergy assess damage to its system following both hurricanes.

Rhett McSween, who works out of Gulf Power’s Crestview office, said they had to use 4-wheel drive trucks to get into areas in Louisiana to replace broken or downed poles and restore power in the area. “The biggest challenge was just trying to coordinate with CLECO and get a routine going. Once we got going, the work wasn’t that bad. It was just a matter of finding a lot of the lines that were down because they were in fields.”

Gulf Power works with other utilities in the Southeast to respond to storm restoration, and is one of the few utilities that has been recognized two years in a row for both restoration and assistance work in the same year.

Gulf Power helped South Florida utilities following Hurricane Charley in 2004, then restored power at home following Hurricane Ivan. In 2005, Gulf Power responded to damage from Hurricanes Dennis and Katrina in Northwest Florida, then helped other utilities in Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

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