Three, five-man line crews and a mobile mechanic from Middle Tennessee Electric are on their way to North Carolina to join efforts to restore power in the wake of Hurricane Florence.
The 16 employees and ten trucks will depart from the electric cooperative’s Lebanon office at 8 a.m. Thursday; their destination is Raleigh, N.C., before heading on to Newport, N.C. to assist Carteret-Craven Electric Membership Corporation in restoration efforts.
“We got the call Tuesday asking if we could send crews to assist as Hurricane Florence headed toward the east coast,” said Chris Jones, MTEMC president and CEO. “MTEMC and a number of other electric cooperatives in Tennessee are responding to that call.”
Jones said MTEMC’s line crews are often eager to help when situations are at their worst.
“It is amazing to watch these guys when they know people are in need,” he said. “That’s when they’re at their best. We’re very proud of them.”
Middle Tennessee Electric volunteers will be joined by more than 130 volunteers from electric cooperatives across the state.
“As cooperatives,” Jones said, “one of our core values is assisting other cooperatives in need. If we had a bad ice storm, you can bet these cooperatives would be there to help us if we needed them.”
The last time MTEMC was asked to assist in the wake of a hurricane was in 2017 after Hurricane Irma tore through Covington, Ga. Prior to 2017, crews were sent to assist in the restoration efforts in Florida after Hurricane Matthew in 2016, to Virginia in 2011 following Hurricane Irma, and after Hurricane Gustav ravaged Louisiana in 2008.
Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation is a member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative providing electricity to more than 225,000 residential and business accounts in Williamson, Wilson, Rutherford, Cannon and surrounding counties.
