Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. (AECI), dispatched 63 lineworkers from across the state to assist Tri-County Electric Cooperative in Madison, Florida, in the wake of Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall August 30.
Tri-County Electric reported that 100% of its system was impacted by the Category 3 hurricane, with 20,000 outages at the peak of the situation. While 10,000 were still without power by the Sept. 4 Labor Day holiday, and the crews’ hotel did not have power, most outages were restored by Sept. 7.
Shared one member of the Florida cooperative on the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas Facebook page: “Thank you for restoring our power here in Taylor County, Florida. They worked extremely hard for us after Hurricane Idalia. We were blessed to have them here.” Shared another: “We here in Keaton Beach, FL, appreciate every single one of you!!! You all are a bunch of hardworking men!!! Prayers for you all and your families while you are away from home!!! Thank you all!!!”