After the Storm
/LJKWQLQJ DQG WRUQDGRHV :LOG ¿UHV and ice storms. Most electric cooperative members have experienced these devastat- ing events at some point in time. After the power has been restored to the last meter, many would assume that everything goes back to normal for your electric coopera- tive. Unfortunately, even after emergency repairs are made and the lights are back on, we’re just beginning to put the pieces back together. These acts of nature deplete UHVRXUFHV DQG ¿QDQFLDOO\ VWUDLQ WKH FR RS for years long after the storm moves on. The December 2015 ice storm is a recent example.
The disastrous event lasted almost two full weeks before we could restore power to all members. During that short time, the cooperative spent roughly $1 million housing and feeding extra con- tracted crews and purchasing large orders of materials to replace the broken poles and conductors destroyed by the storm. These hefty, unbudgeted expenses had to EH FDVK ÀRZHG E\ WKH FRRSHUDWLYH ,W¶V H[- WUHPHO\ GLffiFXOW WR SODQ IRU D PDMRU HYHQW and it’s impossible to forecast the amount of damage that you may incur. Won’t FEMA pay you back? Maybe.
A partial reimbursement will only happen after several hurdles are cleared. First, the President of the United States must sign an emergency or disaster declaration at the written request of Oklahoma’s governor. This can take as long as three weeks after the event occurs. Once the declaration has been signed, FEMA will work with WKH FR RS WR EHJLQ WKH ¿OLQJ SURFHVV They will evaluate and audit the stacks of paperwork and receipts that must have been documented during the initial storm devastation. This requires a lot of time and preparation from the cooperative to make sure that everything was submitted to FEMA’s rigid standards. Once FEMA has agreed all the paper work is properly completed and every expenditure is accounted for, they will authorize a reimbursement of only up to 75 percent of your event costs. The entire process with FEMA and can take up to
By Richard Bowdre NFEC Operations Manager
These poles were recently delivered to the cooperative’s headquarters facility to be used in making the permanent repairs to over 100 miles of line damaged by the Decem- ber 2015 ice storm. The project is on schedule to be completed sometime in 2019.
PRQWKV WR ¿QDOL]H )LQDOO\ LI WKH IXQGV are available, the state of Oklahoma may reimburse 12.5 percent of the project. Be- cause of the volatility of the State budget, this reimbursement is never counted on. That leaves 12.5-25 percent of the tab to be picked up by the membership. During the event, the cooperative must operate to the best of its ability with the mindset that an emergency or disaster declaration won’t be signed, or that it could take years to receive a reimburse- ment. If conductor or lines are damaged to the point that replacement is required, then a whole new process starts. This is called ‘mitigation’ work. During the December 2015 storm, over 100 miles of line was approved by FEMA for replace- ment through mitigation. The estimated cost for that project alone is over $3.5 million. Again, FEMA will reimburse the cooperative 75 percent of that money only after the project is completed, inspected and audited. Until the replacement project is completed, the cooperative must oper- ate on cash and money borrowed through emergency lines of credit from our lenders before getting reimbursed any money
from FEMA. In April of 2017, Northfork (OHFWULF UHFHLYHG LWV ¿UVW )(0$ IXQGV from the December 2015 ice storm, a small advance on expenses submitted to date.
Northfork Electric has just recently VWDUWHG WKH ¿UVW SKDVH RI WKH 'HFHPEHU 2015 ice storm replacement project. Crews will be working in the Elk City area during most of 2017. The Grimes and Dempsey communities will see repairs late 2017 and early 2018, and the Erick and Sayre area phases of the project will begin in 2018. Due to the contract bidding and inventory processes, there are several mandates to follow given by the Federal Government. Each major event and decla- ration is handled separately and cannot be combined. This is why multiple events or back-to-back ice storms are so crippling to WKH ¿QDQFLDO KHDOWK RI DQ HOHFWULF FRRSHUD- tive. Hopefully we will not experience another major event before receiving the FEMA reimbursement from this present project. Along with repairs and cleanup, these ongoing processes and challenges are what’s left after the storm.
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