March 2017 Continued from page 1.
400 linemen. We hired a security guard to watch all the equipment, trucks and materials at night. We estimated over 4,000 poles had been damaged and we were able to finally start getting a little more specific on crew locations for our updates. We added a temporary warehouse at the Woodward rodeo grounds. We needed a place for the more than 100 truck- loads of poles and materials we were receiving. Each truck can bring about 38-42 poles.
01/20/17 Day 8
The auditors left and were surprised at how well our accounting staff was prepared given the current situation. We started with around 4,755 meters without power and ended with 4,711. We were now spending roughly $30,000/day on food and hotels and our damaged pole count climbed over 4,500.
01/21/17 Day 9 The outages dropped from 4,711
to 3,513. The crews restored power to most of our members living east of Woodward (Mooreland, Quinlan, and Bouse Junction). 01/22/17 Day 10 We started the morning with 3,513 outages but we were below 3,000 by noon. Our temporary warehouse was finally starting to get organized. 01/23/17 Day 11
Management spent most of the morning going over FEMA issues and requirements. We had 2,369 meters without power by 5:30 that afternoon. This was also the day a young contrac- tor from Louisiana working for Tri- County Electric Cooperative lost his
life in a tragic accident. 01/24/17 Day 12 We met with FEMA and Oklahoma
Emergency personnel to present our initial estimates. The day started with 2,358 meters without power. We estimated we were setting around 300 to 400 poles per day. Most of the members receiving electricity from the Vici, Woodward, Curtis, Iodine and Cedardale subs had power again. The majority of the lines coming from the Fargo and Fort Supply subs were restored. Some power had been restored in the Arnett area, north and south of Shattuck and the counties of Beaver and Harper, but it would still be at least another week, possibly more, before the power was back on to all essential services in these regions. By 5:30 p.m., our outage number went below 2,000 to 1,921 meters. 01/25/17 Day 13
During our regular board meeting, the directors passed a resolution to move forward with emergency lines of credit with our lenders to help pay for all of the emergency expenses. The linemen were able to get power con- nected to 300 more meters. 01/26/17 Day 14
Crews made steady progress with the feeds coming out of the Arnett sub- station. Most of the crews continued to focus on Ellis, Harper and Beaver Counties. The outage count declined even more, but we still had 1,227 me- ters still not receiving power. 01/27/17 Day 15 We were still housing and feeding over 400 linemen. Our outage num- ber finally dropped below 4 digits as
Hidden account number contest
Congratulations to Maggie Steele and Travis Bowman for recognizing their account numbers in last month’s newsletter.
We have hidden two account numbers somewhere in the articles in this newsletter.
If you recognize your account number, all you have to do is give us a call on or before the 8th of the current month and we’ll give you a credit on your bill for the amount stated.
This month’s numbers are worth $25 each. Happy hunting!
NORTHWESTERN ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. January ice storm
Page 3
Ice on lines compared to a Red Bull can.
Anywhere from 1/2” to over 1” of ice accumulated on the power lines and tree branches causing thousands to be without power following the January ice storm.
we went below 1,000 meters without power for the first time in 2 weeks. 01/28-01/29/17 Days 16 & 17 Crews restored power to the mem- bers (a little over 600 meters) receiv- ing electricity from the Arnett and Gate substations and a few out of the Clearlake substation.
01/30-01/31/17 Days 18 & 19 We were down to the last 109 me- ters without power. One residence still remained without power. 02/01/17 Day 20 We released around 100 linemen that morning. This was also the day the last residential meter without power was energized. The linemen had to build a mile and a half of line to get power to this one house. 02/02-02/06/17 Days 21-25 Crews continued restoring power to all essential services. Our last outage count was at 52 non-essential services without power.
The total equipment replaced so far for this storm is around 5,500 poles, 2,800 cross arms and 92 miles of line. Our next step is to begin the massive cleanup, damage assessments, and future mitigation projects. It’s too early to know how this storm will affect our future finances, but you can rest assured your board and Northwestern Electric staff will work with FEMA and government agencies to do everything possible to keep your electric rates affordable.
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