A second wave of power restoration crews from Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) are in numerous states after Hurricane Helene left a trail of destruction and millions of people without power.
Crews are restoring service to Kentucky Power customers after Hurricane Helene.
In total, 466 I&M employees and business partners are helping our sister companies, Kentucky Power and Appalachian Power Company, restore service to their customers. Among the team are line workers, damage assessors, tree trimming experts, meter technicians, fleet technicians, safety personnel and various business support staff from across our service area.
Crews are working 16-hour days in hilly, heavily forested and flooded areas in Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. The big task for restoration workers is repairing and replacing hundreds of broken power poles and thousands of spans of fallen power lines. Washed out and blocked roads are making driving and walking treacherous for workers. Despite being away from their families and homes for several days, crews remain dedicated to safely restoring a sense of comfort for those affected.
"We are staying focused on working safely and quickly to get the lights back on for those customers and communities who need it to start cleaning up and rebuilding after the storm," said Donny Williams, I&M's Manager of Distribution System for our Michigan districts. "There is no shortage of gratitude we are hearing from Kentucky Power customers, and it makes being away from home worth it when we see lights turn on inside homes."
Lineworkers are in heavily wooded areas restoring power in Kentucky.
Though there is no timetable for our crews' return, I&M remains ready to respond if outages occur here at home. Before I&M agrees to provide mutual assistance, we look at forecasts, determine where we can best help and ensure there is a strong balance of employees remaining in Indiana and Michigan.
American Electric Power (AEP), I&M's parent company, has operating companies in eleven states - including Indiana and Michigan. Several of those operating companies, travel to help I&M restore power after damaging storms and we gladly return the favor when possible.
You can follow I&M’s role in the restoration efforts on our social media pages.