Lineworkers with Missouri’s electric cooperatives completed their first full day in the field in Louisiana on Thursday, assisting in the restoration of power for members of DEMCO Electric Cooperative following Hurricane Ida.
DEMCO’s 9,000-mile system suffered extreme damage following Ida, with overwhelming damage to both transmission and distribution lines. The work is vast and treacherous across the seven parishes they serve.
Their efforts are made more strenuous due to the wet, swampy terrain around the greater Baton Rouge area coupled with the swath of damage Ida left behind. Missouri’s lineworkers have used everything in their arsenal, including boats and utility vehicles to help bring down the outage numbers.
When Missouri’s lineworkers arrived in Baton Rouge, there were more than 80,000 members without power. As of Friday morning, that number has been shaved down by around 30,000. However, much work remains as just under 50 percent of DEMCO members are without power.
Missouri’s co-ops sent 173 lineworkers to Louisiana, representing 31 distribution and two transmission rural electric cooperatives. Also assisting DEMCO are cooperative lineworkers from Kentucky, Oklahoma and Florida.
Missouri’s restoration efforts in Louisiana are spearheaded by the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives. The Jefferson City-based association represents all 47 of Missouri’s electric cooperatives.
Missouri electric cooperatives sending help:
Barry Electric Cooperative, Cassville
Barton Electric Cooperative, Lamar
Black River Electric Cooperative, Fredericktown
Boone Electric Cooperative, Columbia
Callaway Electric Cooperative, Fulton
Central Missouri Electric Cooperative, Sedalia
Co-Mo Electric Cooperative, Tipton
Consolidated Electric Cooperative, Mexico
Crawford Electric Cooperative, Bourbon
Cuivre River Electric Cooperative, Troy
Farmers’ Electric Cooperative, Chillicothe
Gascosage Electric Cooperative, Dixon
Grundy Electric Cooperative, Trenton
Laclede Electric Cooperative, Lebanon
Lewis County Rural Electric Cooperative, Lewistown
Macon Electric Cooperative, Macon
Osage Valley Electric Cooperative, Butler
Ozark Electric Cooperative, Mt. Vernon
Ozark Border Electric Cooperative, Poplar Bluff
Pemiscot-Dunklin Electric Cooperative, Hayti
Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative, Kearney
Ralls County Electric Cooperative, New London
Sac Osage Electric Cooperative, El Dorado Springs
SEMO Electric Cooperative, Sikeston
Southwest Electric Cooperative, Bolivar
Three Rivers Electric Cooperative, Linn
Tri-County Electric Cooperative, Lancaster
United Electric Cooperative, Maryville
Webster Electric Cooperative, Marshfield
West Central Electric Cooperative, Higginsville
White River Valley Electric Cooperative, Branson
Central Electric Power Cooperative, Jefferson City
Sho-Me Electric Power Cooperative, Marshfield
