ATLANTA, Ga. (KFOR) — Oklahoma Gas and Electric crews arrived to Georgia Friday to assist in restoring power following Hurricane Helene devastating parts of the Southeast.
Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane late Thursday night, bringing damaging winds and rain to nearby states. The tropical cyclone has left 4 million residents without power.
According to OG&E, crews arrived in Georgia on Friday and quickly began to assist in the east metro of Atlanta, in areas such as Lithonia, Collinsville, and Stonecrest.
OG&E workers have been working 16-hour shifts to bring power back on to customers, dealing with continuous flooding, road closures, and extensive tree damage.
“The devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene make our crews work all the more critical,” said Chad Guthrie, OG&E Director of Distribution Construction. “With hundreds of thousands of people without power, it was important our crews restore power as soon as the conditions were safe to do so. As of Saturday mid-morning, approximately 540,000 customers remained impacted by the storm in Georgia.”
Georgia’s biggest electric company, Georgia Power, asked for assistance before the arrival of Hurricane Helene. OG&E crews left from Oklahoma on Thursday with expectation of widespread outages in Georgia.
Mutual assistance crews can only be stationed for up to 14 days, but OG&E will rotate in additional crews if more assistance is needed.
“We’re grateful to our crews who stepped in swiftly to help restore power to the countless impacted by this powerful hurricane,” said Andrea Dennis, OG&E Vice President of Transmission & Distribution Operations. “They were prepared to provide their support and expertise, and I commend their willingness to help step in even in challenging conditions.”
OG&E crews were last deployed out of state in mid-September to help assist in power restoration in Louisiana following Hurricane Francine. They were also stationed in south Texas following Hurricane Beryl in July.
