RELEASE CONTACT:
Vicki Estes 785-221-3083
vestes@kec.org
Kansas Electric Cooperatives Head to South Carolina for Hurricane Restoration Efforts
Fifteen Kansas electric cooperatives have answered the call from Aiken Electric Cooperative in Aiken, South Carolina, to provide mutual aid assistance after Hurricane Helene left its service territory devastated and 100,000-plus of its members initially without power.
More than 80 lineworkers from Kansas electric co-ops convoying with nearly 40 pieces of equipment — from bucket trucks to diggers to skid steers — left Kansas the morning of Oct. 3 to aid in Aiken’s power restoration efforts.
At the height of the storm, Aiken EC reported 92% of its system was down, leaving only a few thousand members with power. As of Wednesday, Oct. 2, 50% of their members were still without power. The damage was so severe, Aiken Electric Cooperative reports that “it’s more than power restoration but rather a complete system rebuild.”
The following Kansas electric co-ops have sent crews and equipment:
- 4 Rivers Electric Cooperative, Lebo
- Bluestem Electric Cooperative, Clay Center and Wamego
- Butler Electric Cooperative, El Dorado
- Caney Valley Electric Cooperative, Cedar Vale
- DSO Electric Cooperative, Solomon
- Flint Hills Rural Electric Cooperative, Council Grove
- FreeState Electric Cooperative, McLouth and Topeka
- Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative, Girard
- Lane-Scott Electric Cooperative, Dighton
- Nemaha-Marshall Electric Cooperative, Axtell
- Pioneer Electric Cooperative, Ulysses
- Southern Pioneer Electric Company, Medicine Lodge and Liberal
- Twin Valley Electric Cooperative, Altamont
- Victory Electric Cooperative, Dodge City
- Wheatland Electric Cooperative, Scott City
The electric cooperative mutual aid model allows electric co-ops to help each other during times of need. This approach permits co-ops to “borrow” restoration workers from other co-ops, thereby increasing the workforce response to areas impacted by a major outage event. It’s essentially about neighbors helping neighbors, even when those neighbors are fellow co-ops located hundreds of miles away.
Electric co-ops were formed to provide reliable electric service to our members at the lowest reasonable cost, and mutual aid has been a fundamental part of our DNA since co-ops were formed. The concept of mutual aid originated with the rural electrification efforts in the 1930s. From the very beginning, electric co-ops relied on each other to assist in times of need, and mutual aid provides an essential safety net in times of crisis.
KEC is the Kansas statewide service organization for 26 electric distribution cooperatives and three generation and transmission cooperatives. Headquartered in Topeka, KEC represents the interests of and provides needed services and programs to electric cooperatives that serve member-consumers within the state. KEC functions for the mutual benefit of its members to promote rural electrification and foster the principles on which electric cooperatives were founded.