Two-Man Marshfield Crew Helping Restore Power in Rapids
After wrapping up work restoring the Marshfield community with power, a two-man crew from Marshfield Utilities (MU) is in Wisconsin Rapids today to help with their restoration efforts.
Jim Seefluth and Robert Olwell are assisting Wisconsin Rapids with power restoration efforts, with many in the city still without power since a severe thunderstorm damage the area on Saturday morning.
“When the storms rolled through last weekend we were all hands on deck,” said Melissa Barnes, MU Human Resources Manager. “Our job then was to restore our system as quickly and safely as possible. We thankfully we were able to get back up and running fairly quickly in comparison to some of our neighboring communities.”
After the storms, statewide organization Municipal Electric Utilities of Wisconsin (MEUW)coordinated a Mutual Aid request to support Wisconsin Rapids. Both Wisconsin Rapids Water Works & Lighting Commission and Marshfield Utilities are municipal utilities.
“Wisconsin Rapids is our neighbor and fellow public power provider that needed help; many of us know people or have loved ones that live there, and we know their employees. We also know that if the roles were reversed, they would be here to help us if we needed it,” said Barnes.
At its worst period after the storm, Wisconsin Rapids had more than 10,000 customers without power and needed to replace around 100 power poles that were broken during the storm. MU’s crew is installing poles, wires and other related electrical equipment to help. In addition, they are cutting up downed trees so they can get the electrical equipment installed.
“There are many factors that can make a storm challenging. One factor that impacted last weekend was that there were a few different storm fronts that came through, the first coming Friday evening and then followed by the more severe on Saturday,” said Barnes. “This meant that our crew started restoration efforts Friday and before finishing the next storm came and added to the work that needed to be done. It is also difficult when damage is spread throughout our service area rather than being focused in one general vicinity.”
Barnes added that MU remains dedicated to strong tree-trimming efforts, converting of facilities from overhead to underground and their annual system replacement program – all of which pay off when a storm like last weekend’s rolls through the community.
“Without these measures, we would have had much greater damage,” she said.
Author: News Desk
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