Restoring power
Utility officials say crews sometimes have to prioritize their response to make sure critical places, such as hospitals and operations centers for first responders, have power.
When trees take down power lines, restoring electricity often takes time. Crews have to make sure areas that sustained damage are safe and remove fallen trees and damaged equipment. Sometimes, crews have to replace utility poles or important equipment such as transformers or re-string thousands of feet of electrical cable to restore service.
Twenty-five feet up in the air, ice coated Jared Smith’s helmet, gloves and tools.
The Walton EMC lineman had been on the job for several hours by 10 a.m Wednesday. He said his team had replaced thousands of feet of power lines downed by the ice storm and there was more work to do.
Utility crews across the state braved slick roads and bitter cold all day in a never-ending battle to keep customers’ lights and heat on. The ice snapped utility poles and tree branches across the region, leaving tens of thousands in the metro area without power.
Nothing about the job of restoring that power was easy Wednesday.
“There are 20 mile per hour winds. There’s ice blowing in your face and all around your neck,” said Smith, working on Zingara Road in Rockdale County north of Conyers. “Everything is covered in ice; everything is real slick.”
And the clock is ticking.
Walton EMC started with about 3,000 outages but had only about 100 outages late Wednesday afternoon. State and utilities officials feared many more would lose power there and elsewhere as temperatures dropped and another wave of winter weather roared in overnight.
The power-restoring ritual played out over and over again. Chop up or push aside snapped trees. Pull down the broken wires. Hoist up the new wire. Repeat.
Crews spent the night in staging areas and hit the roads before daybreak to respond to customer calls. Linemen packed several pairs of clothes, brought sleeping bags and air mattresses, snacks and water to help sustain them over what is expected to be a busy few days.
“Our guys know what to do. They’ve done it before,” said Kevin Underwood, a line supervisor in Snellville for Walton EMC.
Smith said he brought two pairs of boots rated to minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit, and was wearing a few pairs of long johns, insulated overalls and several shirts. He also packed another bag of fresh clothes.
John Wanek, a journeyman lineman with Walton EMC, said no season offers reprieve from the risk of outages.
In spring, summer and fall, crews clean up after thunderstorms and tornadoes.
“You’ve got your summer storms and your winter storms,” he said. “There’s really no difference.”
Wanek said he’s had to borrow boats from customers who lost power to run lines over rivers, and tromp through snake-filled woods to re-string utility poles. Georgia’s unpredictable weather means emergency situations happen on a regular basis.
“It sounds crazy,” Wanek said, “but I love what I do.”
After about two hours, the team was ready to make the lines along Zingara Road “hot” again. Smith chipped away ice that had built up on a bolt to make the final connection before restarting power.
“I imagine we’ll be doing this for the next few days, if not longer,” Smith said before hopping in his truck for the next call.
About four hours later, another tree took down a section of line off Zingara Road, and crews had to return. Pine trees and ice just don’t mix.
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