Wiregrass Electric Cooperative Makes Significant Progress in Hurricane Isaias Restoration Efforts

Nearly 300 personnel are working across WEC’s service territory as additional mutual aid crews arrive to support ongoing restoration efforts

HARTFORD, Alabama — Wiregrass Electric Cooperative continues making steady progress restoring power after Hurricane Isaias caused widespread damage across the cooperative’s service territory. WEC employees, contractors and mutual aid crews are working throughout the system to repair damaged infrastructure and restore electricity to members as safely and efficiently as possible.

As of Sunday afternoon, the number of WEC outages are down from 18,000 at the height of the storm to approximately 7,000.

The cooperative has already restored power to thousands of members, but significant work remains as crews continue encountering extensive damage and challenging conditions. With nearly 300 personnel involved in restoration efforts and additional assistance arriving from several states, WEC is dedicating substantial resources to the recovery effort.

“Restoring power to thousands of members is an encouraging milestone, but we know our work is far from finished,” said Brad Kimbro, chief executive officer of Wiregrass Electric Cooperative. “We still have members waiting for their power to be restored, and they remain our priority. Our crews are working with determination, and we are bringing in additional resources to help move the restoration process forward.”

The restoration effort includes WEC employees, contractors, mutual aid cooperative crews and right-of-way personnel. Rappahannock Electric Cooperative and Clinton County Electric Cooperative are among those assisting, with additional crews traveling to the Wiregrass to support recovery efforts.

WEC’s Energy Control Center is coordinating the arrival and deployment of crews to ensure personnel and equipment are directed where they are needed most. MLU Services is also establishing a base camp to accommodate support personnel as additional crews arrive.

While crews are working throughout the service territory, members may not always see restoration activity in their immediate area. In many cases, repairs to equipment and power lines located elsewhere on the system are necessary before electricity can be restored to their homes. WEC is coordinating these efforts to restore service to as many members as possible.

“Restoring power after a storm of this magnitude requires a coordinated effort,” Kimbro said. “Our teams are working strategically to make repairs that will restore service to the greatest number of members while continuing to address damage throughout our system. Every repair brings us closer to our goal, even when that progress may not be immediately visible to everyone still without power.”

Kimbro also expressed appreciation for the outpouring of support from neighboring electric cooperatives and the communities WEC serves.

“One of the greatest strengths of the electric cooperative network is that we come together when our communities need us most,” Kimbro said. “We are incredibly grateful for the crews traveling from other states to help our members, and we appreciate the patience, encouragement and prayers we continue to receive throughout the Wiregrass. We are making meaningful progress, and we will keep working until every member who can safely receive power has their lights back on.”

WEC reminds members to stay away from downed power lines and damaged electrical equipment. Members should never attempt to remove trees or debris tangled in power lines.

Members can report outages by calling WEC’s 24-hour outage hotline at 1-888-469-6882. Members can also monitor outages throughout the service territory using WEC’s interactive outage map at https://outage.wiregrass.coop/.

Members are encouraged to follow Wiregrass Electric Cooperative’s official social media channels and visit wiregrass.coop for the latest outage and restoration updates.

Wiregrass Electric Cooperative is an electric distribution system located in southeast Alabama with more than 3,300 miles of power lines providing reliable and affordable electricity and energy solutions to approximately 27,565 homes and businesses in Houston, Geneva, Covington, Dale, Henry and Coffee counties. For more information, visit our website at www.wiregrass.coop.