Firelands Co-Op sends help to East Coast

NEW LONDON — Firelands Electric Cooperative has sent two linemen and equipment to assist with power restoration efforts in Virginia and the District of Columbia. Ohio's electric cooperatives participate in the national power restoration program known as "Mutual Aid," where line workers, tree-clearing crews, damage assessors, and safety teams join forces to restore electricity during massive outages. Forty-four men from 18 electric cooperatives across Ohio are part of this latest mutual aid effort. Crews left early Tuesday morning for Woodford, Va., to assist in restoring power to residents affected by the recent snowstorm that took out power to more than 200,000 residents across northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. Efforts to get power restored are expected to take three to five days, as crews will be working in difficult terrain and weather conditions. Due to freezing temperatures and 12 inches of wet snow and ice Monday night, poor road conditions and stranded traffic on I-95 in the Fredericksburg area made even travelling to Virginia a challenge for Ohio's crews. "One of the fundamental principles of electric co-ops is cooperation among cooperatives," Firelands Electric's General Manager Dan McNaull said. "Co-ops come to each other's aid in times of need, so when we heard that our co-op friends in Virginia needed our help, we didn't hesitate to answer the call. Our thoughts and prayers are with these linemen and their families, and for their safety and success as they perform the dangerous work of restoring power following this winter storm." Firelands Electric, A Touchstone Energy Cooperative®, is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric utility serving more than 9,100 homes and businesses in rural areas of Ashland, Huron, Lorain, and Richland counties that ranks among the highest energy utilities in the country for customer satisfaction.