We will continue to add to this article as damage assessments come in from around the panhandle.
To our customers we serve in the the Gering Valley Area, we will be having Altitude Energy working with us to help rebuild the structures torn down by this storm. If you see them in your area they are working with RPPD! Thank you for your patience during this trying time.
9:30 PM – After a very long days work, we have pulled all of the crews off for the night. Most are back to the shop, although we still have a couple of trucks stuck and waiting to be pulled out.
The plan for tomorrow is to have Wheat Belt’s crews start at 6 a.m. with the mutual aid crews joining at 9 a.m. They are planning to work 15 hour days as we start the arduous task of restoring power. Hats off to those guys! They are awesome!
Thank you Dawson Public Power District, McCook Public Power District and Midwest Electric Cooperative Corporation for committing crews to help us turn the lights back on!
4:05 P.M. We are still assessing damage but have a much clearer picture of what is ahead of us. We have 4 crews from other districts arriving by 9 a.m. on Monday, April 8 and they and all Wheat Belt crews will start line restoration. We have roughly 250 broken poles.
We still do not have an estimated time of restoration but we do anticipate multi-day outages in many locations.
Thank you to all employees that were on hand to help today. They were assessing damage, restoring power where possible, removing road hazards and preparing crews and materials for tomorrows restoration plans.
Be aware of the possibility of lines down on the roads and if you come across them, please report them.
This picture represents most of the known downed poles and lines.
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