Crews travel to Picayune, Miss. to aid Coast Electric Power Association, restore electricity to affected areas
Cobb EMC today announced the dispatch of crews and equipment to aid those affected by Hurricane Isaac in Mississippi’s Pearl River District, located near Picayune. Cobb EMC employees will join local crews from Coast Electric Power Association (Coast EPA) to restore power to neighboring residents.
More than 33 construction, forestry and shop employees departed from Cobb EMC’s Marietta, Ga. headquarters before dawn on Wednesday morning. Crews will remain in Picayune until Coast EPA has completed repairs and releases Cobb EMC teams. The cooperative’s policy is to relieve disaster teams after two weeks and bring in fresh crews, if needed.
“We’ve always supported fellow electric cooperatives facing crisis,” said Mark Justice, associate vice president of education and community relations at Cobb EMC. “Cooperatives were founded on the principle of helping community members in need, and we’re proud that our teams embrace that so whole-heartedly.”
In addition to five employee crews, the caravan included 23 trucks and trailers to supply desperately-needed equipment that is typically in short supply during major storms. Cobb EMC brought four pole and equipment trailers, along with 19 vehicles and bucket trucks.
At home, Cobb EMC’s regularly-scheduled crews will continually work to monitor, prevent and repair any damage in the utility’s metro Atlanta and southwest Georgia regions. The cooperative advises members to program Cobb EMC’s outage line (770.429.2100) into their cell phones, should these regions experience any electric service outages. Members may also report an outage online at www.cobbemc.com/outage.
