OPPD mutual aid team returning home after providing power restoration support in Iowa and Illinois
July 20, 2024
Omaha Public Power District’s 17-person mutual aid team is headed back from Illinois today after assisting with power restoration from Des Moines to Davenport, Iowa and New Lenox to Homewood, Illinois. They assisted both MidAmerican Energy and ComEd bring power back to thousands of customers following severe weather Monday evening.
We received the request for assistance Tuesday through our mutual aid process, and our crews were loaded and ready to go by late Tuesday afternoon. While it was OPPD providing support to our fellow utilities for this storm, we have received support from other utilities in previous storms, including MidAmerican Energy following severe weather in our area June 26.
“It is extremely gratifying being able to return the favor,” said Brian Kramer, senior director of Utilities Operations, Construction and Maintenance. “That’s what mutual aid is all about, utilities helping utilities restore power to our customers when they need it most. Electricity is a critical service, and we never take that for granted.”
OPPD’s mutual aid team consisted of four 3-person line crews, a 2-member safety team, a supervisor and two transportation mechanics.
“Each and every employee is needed to ensure safe and efficient power restoration,” said Eli Schiessler, OPPD Transmission & Distribution center manager.
Our transportation mechanics, for example, helped repair a blown out tire and repaired a hydraulic issue with a backyard machine, among other things.
“Their work probably goes unnoticed by most,” Schiessler said. “But without their support, our line crews could not successfully restore power for the host utility.”
The team arrived in Des Moines Tuesday evening, heading to MidAmerican Energy’s Davenport, Iowa service center from there. They continued to help MidAmerican Energy until Thursday morning, at which point they were released and sent to help ComEd in New Lenox, Illinois. Friday, their work shifted to Homewood, Illinois.
