4-County Linemen Brave The Weather To Restore Power

CHOCTAW COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Crews across the area spend much of today clearing debris and restoring power after severe storms sweep through north Mississippi.

“They work in extreme conditions there’s no doubt about that,” said 4- County Electric Power Association Director Of Operations Anthony Miller.

Once destructive storms leave, 4-County Electric Power Association linemen hit the road to find damage. However, showers and wind can still linger behind.

“They work in rain or whatever. We don’t stop just because the weather’s bad, unless it’s a danger to themselves they will pull out. Other than that we’re on the job restoring power,” said Miller.

These linemen know it’s part of the job but so is teamwork.

“We just try and watch each other and be safe and make sure that everything we do is geared to caution,” 4-County Lineman Justin Murphy.

Hot wires aren’t the only danger, when limbs are tangled in the power lines.

“The roads are slippery everything that we touch is slippery. Everything is under pressure from the storm fallen trees power lines down just every thing’s under pressure,” said Murphy.

More than 2,000 4-County members lost power Wednesday night. Miller says restoring power to that many requires skill.

“To be a linemen takes a lot of training and a lot of skill has to be acquired over several years to get to that point. With all the safety procedures that we have; wearing rubber gloves, grounding the lines out, and using insulated tools to work on the line and we can continue to do that working out of the insulated bucket cups,” said Miller.

Our 4th grade science books teach us, water and electricity don’t mix. It’s a rule these workers don’t forget.

“Every thing’s de-energized, grounded. All that safety’s taken place before we even start work. We make sure that everything is de-energized. There’s no point of electricity to come back on us,” said Murphy.

While the storm packed a punch, 4-County fought back with quick work to restore power.

“We understand electricity in every body’s life now. It’s huge, everybody counts on electricity to be there and that’s our number one goal when our customers loose power, to restore that power soon as possible,” said Miller.

Virtually everyone’s electricity has been restored Thursday tonight.