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Power Outage Reporting
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800-752-0025
SERVING THE SUWANNEE VALLEY OWNED BY THOSE WE SERVE 11340 100th Street • Live Oak, FL 32060
CEO’S CORNER
(8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. • Monday - Friday, Lobby Hours)
Cooperatives have a way of pulling together when their neighbors are in need. We’ve seen this firsthand over the last month, but some members may wonder why that is. First and foremost, it’s the right thing to do. But the truth is that serving our members and the community around us is built into the principles of every cooperative. October is National Cooperative Month, and co-ops serve an important role in our country. They provide electricity and other crucial services to areas where it might not be profitable for a big company to do so. Our mission isn’t to provide profits for shareholders; it’s to serve you. Following the seven cooperative principles gives every cooperative across the country a clear roadmap to do just that.
Michael S. McWaters Executive V.P./CEO
Like many of you, SVEC has seen its share of storms, but few have caused as much damage as Hurricane Irma did last month. While the cooperative always prepares for the worst, we usually find ourselves making repairs on relatively small portions of the electric system.
That wasn’t the case with Irma. At one point, about 95 percent of our members were without power. This was a systemwide event that required a full week to repair damage to all areas.
You can read more in this newsletter about all the planning and hard work that went into rebuilding our system. Responding to an outage on that scale requires incredible dedication from all parts of the cooperative, and I couldn’t be more proud of how our employees performed.
I’m also thankful to work in an industry where fellow cooperatives are so willing to support each other. The first co-op to commit to helping SVEC restore power after the storm was Lake Region Electric Cooperative, all the way from Minnesota.
That may seem like a long way to travel just to work overtime, but cooperative bonds run deep. The Lake Region CEO and I worked together at Cherokee Electric Cooperative in Alabama. When he learned SVEC could use a hand, he and his employees didn’t hesitate. I only hope one day we’ll have the opportunity to repay their kindness.
Lastly, I want to take a moment to thank you, our members, for your patience. We know how important electric service is to your daily lives and the inconvenience created when it isn’t available.
Many of you even shared some very kind words of encouragement on our Facebook page or with our linemen in the
Cooperation among cooperatives — In order to serve their members most effectively and strengthen the cooperative movement overall, cooperatives work together through local, regional, national and international organizations. This was on display when cooperatives from the Panhandle and beyond pitched in to help SVEC restore power after Hurricane Irma. SVEC itself has sent crews to assist other cooperatives in need, most recently in the wake of Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey and Hurricane Matthew here in Florida.
Voluntary and open membership — Membership in a cooperative is voluntary and open to anyone who wants to make use of its services. The only prerequisite is a willingness to accept the responsibilities that come with being part of the cooperative.
Democratic member control — Cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by the members. Each year, members are given opportunities to be active parts of the decision-making process and shape the policies of their cooperative.
Member economic participation — Each member contributes to the capital of the cooperative, which is used to fund day-to-day operations. That capital benefits the member in proportion to the amount of business they do with the cooperative.
Autonomy and Independence — Cooperatives may enter into agreements with other organizations for the benefit of their members and community. However, the members will always maintain control of the cooperative, and it will remain independent from outside organizations.
Financial education, training and information — The electric industry is constantly changing, so cooperatives provide education and training for members, elected representatives, managers and employees to ensure they have the information to contribute to the development of their cooperatives in a positive way.
Concern for community — Cooperatives work toward the sustainable development of their local communities by enacting policies and programs that are supported by their members.
In the early hours of the morning on Sept. 11, even before reporting to work, many SVEC employees drove personal vehicles to survey damage from Hurricane Irma and pinpoint the areas that most needed repairs.
The wind and rain of the hurricane were just beginning to die down, but the team had prepared. Before the storm hit, Director of Operations Andy Lawrence assigned a lineman, engineer or tech to each of SVEC’s 43 feeder lines, which carry electricity from substations to specific member areas.
Between those firsthand accounts and the SCADA computer system monitoring the status of each substation, a picture of the damage formed fairly quickly — and the news wasn’t good.
“In my 40-plus years with the cooperative, I’ve
never seen damage of this magnitude to our system,” says Lawrence. “There were at least 230 broken poles, which is unheard of for us. That’s a showstopper.”
While past storms might have hit individual sections hard, Irma landed a knockout blow on the entire system. At one point, about 95 percent of SVEC members were without power. Only two breakers, designed to lock down areas of the system to protect them from electrical surges, were left open, and even in those areas many of the feeder lines were down.
The story was similar throughout the state, where an estimated 16 million people were without power. Areas like the Keys, Cuba and much of the U.S. Virgin Islands were devastated, leaving
residents without food or clean water.
But in that moment of hardship, Service Supervisor Craig Ragan saw, not for the first time, a fire lit inside his cooperative co-workers. “It was pretty catastrophic, but we always seem to rally together,” he says. “The harder it gets, the more we band together, put our heads down and get the job done.”
By 8 a.m. Monday morning, SVEC crews were at the cooperative and getting the rundown on the job ahead of them. By 10 a.m., they had their trucks and began assessing the situation along their assigned feeders. By 11 a.m., some crews had already restored power to limited areas.
While everyone had their hands full, Staking Engineer Joe Barclay was dealt a particularly challenging assignment: a feeder just north of the Santa Fe River. In addition to flooding, the number of live oaks along the water meant power lines and poles in the area didn’t stand a chance.
“There’s more trees down there on the river than anywhere else,” he says. “And of course when the wind blows, the trees fall and take lines with them.”
That morning, Barclay had to try three different routes before he could even reach the feeder. The quickest path was blocked by fallen trees, while another was compromised by a sinkhole that posed a problem for heavy vehicles.
When he finally arrived, he was greeted by a large tree that had fallen directly across the main feeder. It would be later that afternoon before the tree could be removed, letting Barclay and his team get to work while the right-of-way crew moved on to clearing another dozen trees from nearby lines.
For Barclay, it was a reminder of how much work can go into repairing one small part of the system, as well as how much the cooperative can be at the mercy of forces beyond its control. “Sometimes Mother Nature just does what she does and there’s nothing you can do about it,” he says.
Initial help arrived within 24 hours after the hurricane swept through. Reinforcements arrived en masse a day later. In the days before the storm, cooperatives could not know for sure who would be available to help from nearby states. SVEC turned to a cooperative far from Irma’s path for help.
Calling on an old friend from his days at Cherokee Electric Cooperative in Alabama, SVEC General Manager Michael McWaters arranged for Lake Region Electric Cooperative CEO Tim Thompson to send a crew south from Minnesota. Even with evacuation traffic setting them back a day, the LREC crew was still the first help to arrive on the evening of Sept. 12. But they would prove to be far from the last of the crew who traveled to the area to offer their help.
Those extra hands made a difference because the scope of the damage made it impossible for
SVEC employees to cover every part of the system at once. “You can’t handle a widespread outage without folks like that. We would still be working on it,” says Lawrence. “Our crews can only cover 10 feeders at a time, which leaves more than 30 unattended.”
To help point those out-of-town crews in the right direction, employees like Barclay and Ragan worked double duty as “bird dogs” — group leaders who know the area and show them the ropes. Once a bird dog is assigned to a crew, he stays with them for the entirety of the job, making sure they have food, lodging, fuel and any direction they might need to make the most of the extra help.
“Co-ops across the country basically do the same thing, but each area does certain work a little differently,” says Lawrence. “It makes a big difference to have our own people on the job with them. It speeds things up when your hometown folks can show them how to do it.”
Ultimately, that cooperative connection meant the additional crews settled in quickly and were able to get to work almost immediately.
“We had crews from Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Minnesota, and we mixed together like we’d known each other all our lives, but we had never even met,” Lawrence says. “Everyone can work together and do a good job; that’s just how it is in the co-op world.”
As crews from outside cooperatives continued to arrive from all over the Southeast and beyond — more than 80 workers in total — SVEC staff who weren’t in the field set to work at the daunting task of providing for nearly 150 linemen, pole setters and right-of-way crewmen from SVEC and visiting cooperatives.
Cooperative staff arranged lodging at local hotels and Spirit of the Suwannee for out-of-town crews. The SVEC warehouse worked around the clock to ensure each crew had the equipment they needed. SVEC office staff prepared breakfast every morning, boxed lunches for linemen to take on the road, and had dinner ready every night.
Lottie’s Laundry even made sure that traveling crews’ clothing and protective equipment — brought in by the hundreds of pounds — was washed clean for them when they needed it.
“The work that office staff and members of the community did was just as critical as ours,” says Ragan. “They’re the best thing going because without them we couldn’t do what we do. It’s a team effort, but they do their part without the attention of being center stage.”
Many employees were also moved by the encouragement they received throughout the week from members, some of whom had been without power for days. Several sent uplifting cards and emails or posted their gratitude on Facebook. Others expressed their appreciation in person, wading out through floodwaters to greet linemen or offering them cookies and a cold drink.
For Ragan, his most memorable interaction came at his lowest point. With four days of 16-hour shifts behind him and several more ahead, he arrived sweaty and exhausted at a house where he expected to get chewed out.
“I knew these people had been without power for four days, and I was trying as hard as I could. Then this little girl — she couldn’t have been more than 3 or 4 — brought me a jug of water and some candy,” he says. “It almost made me break down. That moment was what it’s all about. That’s what’s so rewarding about serving a community like the one we live in.”
By week’s end, SVEC employees had restored power to 99 percent of the system, with only homes suffering from electrical damage still without service. It had required long hours, the help of 26 additional crews, and the support work of dozens of cooperative staff, but the job was done.
“We’ve been through a lot of storms around here,” says Barclay. “But to have one with that much devastation, that knocked out about 95 percent of our members, and have them all with power again in seven days — I think that’s remarkable.”
When the time came for visiting crews to hit the road, energy may have been low, but emotions were running high. In the storm’s aftermath, the cooperative fielded more than 38,000 calls from members. After working side by side for most of a week, many people had forged deep bonds and lasting friendships.
“When you work in a situation like that, you get to know who the good people are, and they were good people,” Barclay says of the crew he worked with from Minnesota. “When we said our goodbyes, we almost cried; that’s how well we worked together.”
With a long week behind them, SVEC employees finally went home on schedule the following night. For the first time since Irma had struck, they settled in for a well-deserved rest.
by the numbers
230 Poles Replaced 83 Transformers Replaced
1,500 Fuses Replaced
2,200 Connectors Used to Splice Broken Lines
25,000 Feet of Line Replaced
900 Lunches Packed
1,820 Sandwiches Made
28 Gallons of Milk Consumed
130 Gallons of Tea Consumed
636 Pounds of Laundry Done for Guest Crews
226 Hotel-Room Nights for Out-of-Town Crews
38,599 Calls Taken from Members
CEO’s CORNER, continued from front field. For someone working overtime who may not have seen their family in days, that kind of support can mean the world.
It’s those values that make it a privilege to serve you on the beautiful days, as well as when the clouds gather. Thank you for your support and your continued partnership as we all recover from the storm.
We would like to thank the following cooperatives for sending crews to help us recover from Hurricane Irma:
Pearl River Valley Electric Power Association (MS) Dixie Electric Power Association (MS)
Cherokee Electric Cooperative (AL)
McLeod Cooperative Power Association (MN)
Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association (MN)
Stearns Electric Association (MN)
(MN)
Lake Region Electric Cooperative (MN)
SVEC crews are wearing pink in October to honor Breast Cancer Awareness month, as well as the women and families affected by
