Lending a hand in Florida

Storm repairs in the Sunshine State …. The GRDA contingent that headed to Florida on October 7 to help repair damage left behind by Hurricane Matthew works on an electric feeder in Jacksonville.

The 12 Grand River Dam Authority employees that headed out for Jacksonville Beach, Florida in the early morning hours of Friday, October 7, were on no pleasure trip. Rather, they were on a mutual aid mission, like many other utility representatives from across the country.

All of them were taking their skills, tools and experience to Florida, to help repair the damaged electric distribution systems left behind by Hurricane Matthew. With little information, a timeline for repairs or the extent of the damage (the storm had yet to hit when they left), all the crews really knew was that their help would be needed, perhaps for up to two weeks.

Fortunately, electric linemen from Oklahoma are no strangers to putting back whatever Mother Nature tears apart. Ice storms, tornado, microbursts and even wildfires have all tested the resolve of GRDA employees in recent years. At the same time, those events have helped our team to hone its skills and learn how to work together safety and quickly to get the job done.

“We have a wide range of experience that we are taking and we feel like we can tackle just about anything they let us work on,” said GRDA Powerline Maintenance Department Superintendent Chester Rotthammer, adding that safety would be the first priority for his team when they began the repair efforts in Florida.

“We have families too, and we want everyone to come home safe,” he said. “However, we love this type of work. If we didn’t love it, we wouldn’t be doing it.”

That kind of attitude and approach will serve GRDA’s linemen well, as they help restore power to our neighbors on the East Coast.

Headquartered in Vinita, GRDA is Oklahoma’s state-owned electric utility; fully funded by revenues from electric and water sales instead of taxes. Each day, GRDA strives to be an “Oklahoma agency of excellence” by focusing on the 5 E’s: electricity, economic development, environmental stewardship, employees and efficiency.  

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