Utilities, Government Officials say Workers Faced Treacherous Conditions after Winter Storm Fern

Climate & Comp

Lexington, KY (WorkersCompensation.com) – As government officials and utility companies are asking residents and consumers to be patient as their workers try to clean streets and restore power following Winter Storm Fern.

In Lexington, Ky., more than a week after the storm, road crews are still working to clear streets, Mayor Linda Gorton said, and some are facing pushback from residents whose streets haven’t been cleared since the snow started on Jan. 24. Gorton said in a press release that some of the road crews had faced verbal assaults as they tried to work.

“People are frustrated and want to get back to normal, as do I … I hear you loud and clear,” Gorton said. “What used to be a very rare occurrence – a significant ice storm, followed by an extended period of extreme cold - has now occurred two years in a row. It’s clear that ice storms and extreme cold are part of our winters now… Let’s all take a step back and find a little patience

More than 8 inches of snow and temperatures in the single digits have hampered efforts to address secondary roads, she said, as the city worked to protect its workers from the cold temperatures,

Utilities companies continued to work with local, state and federal officials to get power on to customers, while protecting workers from the cold. On Wednesday night, the CEO-led Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council held a conference call with officials from the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the White House.

Officials said workers continue to face dangerously cold temperatures, treacherous roads, and falling trees and branches. Because of that, the assessment and restoration efforts require significant safety precautions. In many cases, officials said, trees are falling in areas that have already had power restored causing new outages. Officials asked customers to stay off of the roads to let public works teams and industry crews do their jobs.

“The men and women who are out in these frigid conditions trying to get the lights back on are nothing short of heroes,” American Public Power Association (APPA) President and CEO Scott Corwin said. “Many of them have traveled from outside of the affected regions, joining the around-the-clock effort to get the power on for everyone as quickly and safely as possible.”

Officials stressed that repairs are taking place, even if customers can’t see crews working in their neighborhood.

“Electric co-op crews from across the nation continue working heroically to rebuild their systems in the wake of Winter Storm Fern,” National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) CEO Jim Matheson said. “The ongoing collaboration within the electric co-op network and across industry and government continues to be essential as we work together to recover from this storm.”

In addition to preparations prior to the storm, electric companies, electric cooperatives and public power utilities from the Southeast to the Mid-Atlantic worked to restore power to nearly a million homes and businesses who lost power due to the snow and ice. More than 65,000 workers from at least 44 states are on the ground assessing damage and handling restorations, officials said. Nearly 750,000 customers have had power restored.

“This unified effort includes close coordination with federal, state, and local officials who share the goal of safely restoring power as quickly as possible,” Edison Electric Institute (EEI) President and CEO Drew Maloney said. “The massive mutual assistance mobilization has ensured we have enough workers in place, with crews shared across the region and reassigned to the next priority as soon as they wrap up work. We also greatly appreciate the efforts of federal and state leaders to deploy additional road- and tree-clearing resources into the hardest-hit communities.”

After a week of ice and snow in the Carolinas, a bomb cyclone hit this Saturday and Sunday, leaving some areas struggling with historic amounts of snow. Beaches from Wilmington, NC to Myrtle Beach, SC saw significant accumulations between 6 to 18 inches of snow.

The weather only affected power for less than 1,000 consumers, but crews faced near blizzard conditions and dangerous travel conditions after the snow stopped.  

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