Athens Utilities Board Receives National Commendation For Electric Restoration Efforts in Florida Town

Media Contact:

Wayne Scarbrough

(423) 745-4501 ext. 6002

wscarbrough@aub.org

August 27, 2018

ATHENS, TN— The American Public Power Association has awarded Athens Utilities Board (AUB) a national commendation for its role in restoring electric power to the city of Wauchula, Fla., last year following Hurricane Irma.

In September of 2017, AUB sent six crewmembers to Wauchula after the Category 4 hurricane nearly demolished the city’s power distribution system.

AUB is part of a Mutual Aid Network of public power utilities that come to the aid of sister systems when disasters cripple or destroy power systems that otherwise could take weeks or months to rebuild.

As a result, the community was completely “in the dark.” High temperatures and humidity hammered residents daily around the clock.

Some 5,100 Wauchula residents, living an hour southeast of Tampa, welcomed AUB crews as they arrived for a week of emergency construction and restoration of the city’s power distribution system.

Upon arrival, the crews’ first task was to assist other mutual-aid responders in restoring power to the local hospital and water treatment plant.

Reliable healthcare services and clean water are high priorities in any community, especially in the wake of a natural disaster.

By helping restore power to critical infrastructure quickly, the AUB crews were key to the wellbeing of Wauchula, even after a 20–hour drive from Athens to arrive in the Florida community, said AUB’s Wayne Scarbrough.

“Within the first four days of work, more than 80 percent of the Wauchula customer base had its power restored,” he said.

The AUB crews worked through sweltering temperatures and stifling humidity day after day to essentially rebuild a power grid for an entire community in short order.

“This mutual-aid effort speaks to the work ethic of the linemen and to their compassionate awareness of how critical these services are for a safe and healthy community,” Scarbrough said.

Athens and surrounding McMinn have reaped the value of the mutual aid network among public power providers.  The community has benefitted from the program several times, Scarbrough said, most notably after the tornado that ripped across the region in November 2016.

The AUB linemen that made the trip talked with many Wauchula residents while there, met with a state senator at a work site, and left a lasting impression on everyone they met.

Lineman David Rayl said that on one of the hottest days of restoration work, three small girls from a family that had little to give brought water to the AUB crews, offering whatever they could to say ‘thank you.’

“They insisted on the gift that they wanted to give us, and we were thankful. The entire community gave us what we needed while we worked. It was amazing,” Rayl said.

The middle school in Wauchula sent dozens of thank you cards and drawings to AUB within a couple of weeks of the crew arriving home to Tennessee.

Wauchula residents also reached out to AUB via Facebook with appreciative comments, including one from the city of Wauchula.

“Many thanks from the city of Wauchula! Your crew has arrived and hit the ground running! Words can never fully express our appreciation!!”

Another Facebook message echoed a common theme of notes from Wauchula community members.

“Thanks for assisting city of Wauchula power. I'm a resident here. No power for 4 days & just got power 9/14 @ 10:30pm. Again you guys are awesome. Thank you & to your families.”

“Our linemen, like all of the people at AUB in the field and in the office, are first and foremost good human beings.  People who set aside personal and territorial boundaries when it comes to helping people who need the help we can provide,” Scarbrough said.

“It is an honor and a responsibility to offer our support to other communities when they have a need and we have the resources and expertise available,” he said.

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