Northwest Iowa — Earlier we told you about several northwest Iowa municipal utilities that were sending people and equipment to help get the power turned back on in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. Now, MidAmerican Energy is sending crews to be part of an estimated 17-thousand utilities workers dispatched to Florida after Hurricane Irma.
MidAmerican Energy spokesman Adam Jacobi says his company has sent around 250 workers to Florida.
Around 200 Iowa and Wisconsin utility workers from Alliant Energy are heading to Florida to help out, as well. The storm left more than 7-million people without power at one point, and Jacobi says it’s a big job to get everything repaired.
Crews from 30 states and Canada are in Florida or on the way to help restore the power. Fifiteen Iowa electric cooperatives have sent 46 linemen and 26 vehicles to help an electric coop in southeast Georgia restore extensive power outages caused by the hurricane. The Okefenoke Rural Electric Membership Corporation along the Florida-Georgia line reported that 95-percent of its electric system was knocked out by the storm.
Original story posted at 2:50 pm 9/11/2017
Northwest Iowa — Northwest Iowa municipal utilities are sending people and equipment to Florida to offer assistance in response to Hurricane Irma. The first of the crews headed south Sunday and early Monday.
The Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities says ten electrical line workers from Sioux Center, Spencer, Alta, Lake Park and Denison have been deployed thus far. In addition to the manpower sent to Florida, three digger trucks, and three bucket trucks have been sent, as well.
The northwest Iowa crews have reportedly been assigned to report to the city of Moore Haven, Florida, which is located in the southern part of the state, on the western side of Lake Okeechobee.
