CEC lineman help in Mo. power-restoration effort | Community Spirit

(KFVS) - Citizens Electric linemen were dispatched this week to three fellow electric cooperatives in mid-Missouri that were coping with widespread outages after being socked with heavy, wet snow and ice recently.

On Tuesday, four linemen and two trucks were sent to Three Rivers Electric Cooperative, which serves more than 21,000 members living in parts of seven counties to the south and east of Jefferson City. CEC crews helped with the restoration effort for two days.

Early Wednesday morning, four more linemen and two trucks set out for Fayette to help Howard Electric Cooperative crews restore power in HEC’s service territory to the north and west of Columbia. CEC officials anticipated a two- or three-day stay there.

CEC said they received a request for additional assistance Thursday morning and sent the crews, who had been helping Three Rivers Electric, to Co-Mo Electric Cooperative, which provides power to members living north of the Lake of the Ozarks in parts of Cooper, Moniteau and Morgan counties. As of Wednesday evening, about 9,000 of Co-Mo’s 31,000 members were without electricity, and CEC crews were expecting to stay two or three days.  

At the peak of the outages, CEC said about 55,000 homes were without power in Missouri, with Co-Mo being the hardest hit area, according to the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives. Central Missouri Rural Electric in Sedalia, Osage Valley Electric in Butler, West Central Electric in Higginsville, Callaway Electric in Fulton, Farmers Electric in Chillicothe, Macon Electric in Macon and Southwest Electric in Bolivar were also affected.

Citizens Electric’s territory in Ste. Genevieve, Perry and Cape Girardeau counties were spared from any significant outages during the winter storms. AMEC, of which CEC is a member, coordinates the relief effort for the co-ops that were not as fortunate.

 “We’re always happy to send a few guys to help a fellow cooperative that is in crisis. Actually, one of the principles we operate by is ‘cooperation among cooperatives.’ So we know when we’re in trouble, they’ll be here to help us, too. That’s part of being in the cooperative family,” said Citizens CEO Van Robinson.

According to CEC, they are reimbursed for any costs incurred during the cooperative-relief effort. Citizens Electric serves nearly 27,000 members and has the largest power load of any co-op in the state.

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