Alabama Power line workers and contractors returned home Friday after spending more than a week helping Texas utility CenterPoint Energy restore power following Hurricane Beryl.
The storm left more than 2 million customers without power during a heat advisory that saw temperatures reach the upper 90s and the heat index reach triple digits for much of the week, making restoration even more urgent.
CenterPoint released Alabama Power’s 350 personnel, including 300 contractors, early Friday with power restored to 99% of affected customers. After working around the clock consecutive days for almost two weeks in extreme temperatures, line crews were no doubt looking forward to getting back to Alabama and getting some down time with their families. One lineman posted on Facebook a photo of Alabama Power trucks departing their staging area in Texas, with the caption, “Headed to the house.”
“I could not be more proud of our APC storm team,” said Brian Lindsay, APC Storm Team director. “They have played a major role in the restoration effort for customers of CenterPoint Energy after Hurricane Beryl. Even while working long hours in the heat and humidity and sleeping in sleeper trailers, they have maintained great attitudes.”
Utilities from around the country, including Alabama Power, are part of a network of mutual assistance for restoration efforts after severe weather. Texas residents were extremely grateful for assistance from Alabama Power, expressing their gratitude in phone calls, yard signs and thousands of social media comments.
CenterPoint Energy also posted a “thank you” message to Alabama Power on its X (formerly Twitter) account. The caption reads, “Thank you Alabama Power for your support in our Hurricane Beryl restoration efforts.”
Beryl brought with it high tides, storm surge, intense wind gusts and heavy rain that hammered southeast Texas on July 8 and left 2.2 million CenterPoint customers in the dark.
The Alabama Power Storm Team arrived the day after Beryl made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane, and the crews worked tirelessly to restore power for almost two weeks. During the restoration effort, the team repaired and/or replaced 113 poles, 962 spans of wire, 83 transformers, 809 services and 96 switches.
By Friday – 11 days after Beryl made landfall – all but 4,000 customers had their lights back on.
Courtesy of Alabama News Center.
