TEAM FISHEL RESTORES POWER IN DEVASTATED AREAS

The arrival of autumn usually ushers in the hurricane season along the Atlantic Coast and this year was no exception. Fishel Teammates responded to two active hurricanes this year restoring power to communities caught in their path.

Hurricane Gustav made landfall in Louisiana on September 1 as a Category 2 hurricane with winds in excess of 115 mph. A total of 60 Teammates reported to Ponchatoula, Louisiana to repair service for Entergy Customers. Over 895,000 Customers in Entergy’s service area were without power.

Conditions were typical for late summer in Louisiana, hot and humid weather with plenty of mosquitoes and other pests. The Teammates joked that when they returned to Louisville, they’d at least know what was biting them!

“The crews were working about 16 hours per day repairing broken poles and downed lines,” said Rich Mauldin, Louisville Area Manager. Once the crews finished in Louisiana, they returned to Louisville to restore power to the city due to the remnants of Hurricane Ike. They assisted LG&E’s Public

Safety Response Team with locating and securing downed power lines until they could be repaired. LG&E had over 300,000 Customers without power, which represents approximately 75% of their Customer base.

According to Mauldin, the most remarkable aspect to this work has been the safety aspect. The Louisville Teammates logged approximately 6,700 hours over a two-week period in Louisiana and another 7,558 hours on emergency repairs in Louisville without a single safety incident while working in less than ideal conditions and for a new Customer.

Hurricane Ike was the next to arrive in Galveston, Texas on September 13. Teammates from the Plant City, Florida office reported to Houston to begin restoring power for Centerpoint Energy. Over 2 million Centerpoint Customers were without power when the crews arrived. The crews reported terrible driving conditions due to traffic and missing street signs, which made finding their work locations difficult. It was also a challenge finding fuel for the convoy of 50 vehicles accompanying the crews as well as lodging. Eventually, the crews were given their own substation to work from to avoid multiple companies working on the same lines.

“Our crews worked an average of 110 hours per week for over three weeks,” said Charles Bass, Plant City Area Manager. “I’m proud of the outstanding job they did on the work and in representing Team Fishel.”

According to Bass, Rob Kuell set up a mobile command center that was so helpful that Centerpoint Energy employees began coming to them to get copies of maps and directions. This command center allowed the Fishel crews to work more efficiently and accomplish more than the other crews. Centerpoint Energy brought in their senior management to see how the crews were set up to accomplish as much as Team Fishel did, and they commented on the quality and appearance of the fleet.