Co-ops unite for emergency response

Hurricane season doesn't officially wind down until November, but so far Mississippi has not been directly affected by a major storm this year.

But that doesn't mean we haven't prepared for one. As Hurricane Isabel diminishes to tropical storm status at this writing, electric power association crews remain on standby, awaiting a call for power restoration assistance that could come at any minute.

When Isabel crashed ashore Sept. 18 at North Carolina's Outer Banks and swept up the Eastern Seaboard, it knocked out power to more than 2.5 million people. Many of them are served by consumer-owned electric cooperatives similar to your local electric power association.

Electric power associations in Mississippi and throughout the region long ago devised an emergency work plan based on cooperative agreements to assist each other in restoring power during major emergencies. Most of Mississippi has benefited from this emergency work plan at one time or another.

You may have seen the plan in action during the devastating ice storm of 1994 that destroyed hundreds of miles of power line in the Mississippi Delta. Electric cooperatives across the state and in neighboring states sent crews and equipment to speed the rebuilding of electric service without sacrificing safe working practices.

You may have seen the plan working as cooperative utility workers from other areas scrambled to help local co-op crews restore power in the wake of the tornado that raked Columbus and surrounding areas in November 2002.

South Mississippians are accustomed to the sight of crews from electric cooperatives other than their own working to help restore power in the wake of hurricanes and tropical storms.

The electric power associations' emergency work plan is a reciprocal agreement carefully crafted to ensure every electric cooperative receives the assistance it needs and is given the opportunity to return the favor.

The bottom line is the restoration of electric service as quickly and as safely as possible despite difficult, dangerous working conditions that may involve ice, high winds, downpours or toppled trees.

We consider our emergency plan a work in progress. Each year representatives of electric power associations meet to review the plan, evaluate effectiveness and make improvements.

We have a lot of time and effort invested in the plan, but it pays off in immeasurable ways every time a natural disaster disrupts service to our members.