While impacted public power utilities, investor-owned electric companies and electric cooperatives have already restored power to nearly 750,000 customers as of 9:00 a.m. (ET) on Jan. 29 in the wake of Winter Storm Fern, work continues around-the-clock, especially in the communities that saw between 1 and 2 inches of destructive ice accumulations.
Winter Storm Fern brought heavy snow and damaging ice from the Southwest through the Mid-Atlantic as forecasted.
The electric power industry mobilized quickly ahead of the storm, with more than 65,000 workers from at least 44 states ready to begin damage assessments and restorations as soon as it was safe to do so, the American Public Power Association, the Edison Electric Institute and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association said.
On the evening of Jan. 28, the CEO-led Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council convened its third call with senior officials from the Department of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the White House to receive updates directly from the most impacted electricity providers.
“The men and women who are out in these frigid conditions trying to get the lights back on are nothing short of heroes,” said APPA President and CEO Scott Corwin. “Many of them have traveled from outside of the affected regions, joining the around-the-clock effort to get the power on for everyone as quickly and safely as possible.”
“This unified effort includes close coordination with federal, state, and local officials who share the goal of safely restoring power as quickly as possible,” said EEI President and CEO Drew Maloney. “The massive mutual assistance mobilization has ensured we have enough workers in place, with crews shared across the region and reassigned to the next priority as soon as they wrap up work. We also greatly appreciate the efforts of federal and state leaders to deploy additional road and tree-clearing resources into the hardest-hit communities.”
“In the wake of Winter Storm Fern, the Department of Energy remains committed to doing everything in our power to mitigate blackouts and lower energy costs for the American people,” said U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Secretary James P. Danly. “Thanks to the work of our industry partners, mutual assistance crews are restoring power as quickly and safely as possible across the country. Since Winter Storm Fern began on January 24, the Department has issued 8 emergency orders to stabilize the electric grid across impacted regions—the Department is using all of the available tools at our disposal to mitigate power outages and save lives.”
Workers continue to face dangerously cold temperatures, treacherous roads, and falling trees and branches, requiring significant safety precautions to be taken. In many cases, trees are falling in areas that already were restored, causing new outages. It is essential that customers stay off the roads to let local public works teams and industry crews do their jobs safely and efficiently, the trade groups noted.
The energy grid is highly interconnected, and even if customers do not see crews in their neighborhoods or on their streets yet, essential repairs are underway.
“Electric co-op crews from across the nation continue working heroically to rebuild their systems in the wake of Winter Storm Fern,” said National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) CEO Jim Matheson. “Crews are working as quickly and safely as possible to restore power in unprecedented conditions. The ongoing collaboration within the electric co-op network and across industry and government continues to be essential as we work together to recover from this storm.”
Customer and worker safety remains the top priority. Customers should never use portable generators or grills indoors or in other enclosed areas where lethal fumes can accumulate. Customers also are reminded to remain vigilant against suspicious text messages or scammers demanding cash or app payments in exchange for restoration services, APPA, NRECA and EEI said.
