Sending Hurricane Florence Help

Sending Hurricane Florence Help

Missouri electric co-ops sending hurricane help

As Hurricane Florence makes it way toward the Atlantic coast, Missouri’s electric cooperatives are mobilizing to answer the call for help. At the request of Santee Electric Cooperative in Kingstree, S.C., 162 Missouri cooperative lineworkers from 33 of the state’s electric cooperatives will be traveling to South Carolina to assist in the cleanup after the storm has passed. Missouri will be sending both construction and service crews to help with the power restoration efforts.

They are a part of a massive show of strength in advance of the storm that currently includes linemen from 11 states out of the hurricane’s path. As soon as it is safe for them to mobilize, the crews will descend on Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina to help lineworkers in those states restore power as quickly as possible.

The Missouri crews will gather on Friday morning to travel east so they’re closer to the area but still out of harm’s way until the storm passes Saturday evening.

Missouri’s electric cooperatives have a long history of lending a helping hand to its cooperative peers in trying times. Missouri crews first helped with hurricane relief efforts in 2004 when the Gulf Coast was hit by Hurricane Ivan and have been doing so since. The most recent deployment was in 2017 when crews traveled to Florida and Georgia following Hurricane Irma.

The favor has been returned, as Missouri co-ops received assistance restoring power following ice storms in 2007 and 2009.

Missouri’s restoration efforts are being spearheaded by the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives. The Jefferson City-based association represents all 47 of Missouri’s electric cooperatives.

 Here is a list of the cooperatives sending help:

 Atchison-Holt Electric Cooperative, Rock Port

Barry Electric Cooperative, Cassville

Black River Electric Cooperative, Fredericktown

Boone Electric Cooperative, Columbia

Central Missouri Electric Cooperative, Sedalia

Citizens Electric Corp., Perryville

Co-Mo Electric Cooperative, Tipton

Consolidated Electric Cooperative, Mexico

Crawford Electric Cooperative, Bourbon

Cuivre River Electric Cooperative, Troy

Farmers’ Electric Cooperative, Chillicothe

Gascosage Electric Cooperative, Dixon

Grundy Electric Cooperative, Trenton

Howell-Oregon Electric Cooperative, West Plains

Laclede Electric Cooperative, Lebanon

Lewis County Rural Electric Cooperative, Lewistown

Macon Electric Cooperative, Macon

North Central Missouri Electric Cooperative, Milan

Osage Valley Electric Cooperative, Butler

Ozark Border Electric Cooperative, Poplar Bluff

Pemiscot-Dunklin Electric Cooperative, Hayti

Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative, Kearney

Ralls County Electric Cooperative, New London

Sac Osage Electric Cooperative, El Dorado Springs

SEMO Electric Cooperative, Sikeston

Se-Ma-No Electric Cooperative, Mansfield

Southwest Electric Cooperative, Bolivar

Tri-County Electric Cooperative, Lancaster

United Electric Cooperative, Maryville

Webster Electric Cooperative, Marshfield

West Central Electric Cooperative, Higginsville

White River Valley Electric Cooperative, Branson

Central Electric Power Cooperative, Jefferson City