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Having the power to make a difference

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Friday, 14 December 2012 16:12

“Superstorm Sandy” followed by a Nor’easter recently battered the northeast leaving thousands without power.
The restoration phase was going to be a rigorous and possibly dangerous situation. But that didn’t stop a brave traveling band of Kissimmee Utility Authority line workers from putting their safety on the line to help a sea of strangers placed at the mercy of Mother Nature. For that kind of dedication, the KUA Board of Directors honored the 15 workers with special recognition at its meeting Wednesday.
And we believe it was a well-deserved honor.
These crews were asked to leave their families to journey into the unknown to help restore power in November.
One crew over was there more than two weeks — restoring power in the Lehigh Valley region near Allentown, Pa. and on Long Island after Sandy roared ashore in the Northeast on Oct. 29
The first crew left Kissimmee a day later, and reported to the Allentown area, working in chilly conditions. When released from there, they were assigned to New York to help the Long Island Power Authority restore service to some citizens who had been out of power for more than a week.
And just when they thought the work was hard enough, the Nor’easter that followed on Sandy’s heels brought frigid temperatures, brisk winds and six inches of snow, something many of these Floridians had never seen in person.
When their time was complete, the crews had spent 17 days on the detail and logged 3,000 miles of travel and 3,000 man-hours of work.
They had to deal with old trees and infrastructure, which was ill prepared to face the conditions, a tropical system like Sandy brought. Accommodations also were sometimes questionable. In Long Island they originally slept in a large wall tent that would eventually get ripped to shreds by the Nor’easter and its 60 mph winds.
We believe the KUA team sent a message that we need to help others in need when we can.
Well done.