Line crews from Unitil are heading to Georgia to assist with power restoration efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which left millions without electricity and devastated parts of the southeastern United States after making landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region last week.
Unitil’s fleet of vehicles, which will include a total of 12 line workers from the company’s New Hampshire and Massachusetts regions, left for Saco, Ga., on Monday afternoon and will provide mutual aid to Georgia Power, which has reported extensive tree damage, widespread flooding and many road closures in the wake of the hurricane.
“Helene proved to be a very deadly and destructive hurricane that affected millions of people over a wide area. A natural disaster of this magnitude requires a multifaceted response, which is why our line workers are joining crews from dozens of other utility companies that have responded to the region,” Unitil External Affairs Director Alec O’Meara said. “Safety is always the No. 1 priority, and it will be especially critical as our crews navigate the area and work to restore power in the coming days.”
Hurricane Helene is the latest storm to prompt a mutual aid response from Unitil, a Hampton-based provider of electricity and natural gas to customers in New England, that has sent crews to other regions outside its service territory in the past to assist with power restoration.
Once they arrive in Georgia, Unitil’s crews will likely work long days in difficult conditions, but as they finished loading up their gear before departing on Monday, line workers said they were looking forward to helping in any way they could.
“We’ll be going into areas we don’t know, but at the end of the day, the guys just want to go down there to restore power and be safe. Safety is the biggest thing,” said line supervisor Shawnn Vaillant, who will oversee the crews while they’re deployed.
Gregg Plumer, a lead line worker, has been with Unitil for 34 years and has assisted with storm-related power restoration in other parts of New England in the past, but this will be his first time traveling to the Southeast to lend a hand.
“The way I look at it, more hands make less work. When people are out of power, it’s just like us, we need help because everybody wants to get their power on and if we don’t get help it takes us twice as long,” he said.
Traveling into a disaster area to provide mutual aid comes with challenges, but it’s also rewarding for the crews. “From my experience, people have always been appreciative,” Plumer said. “They appreciate you coming to help.”
Photo Captions:
- Top: Line crews from Unitil left for Georgia on Monday afternoon as part of a mutual aid response to assist with power restoration efforts in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
- Middle: Unitil line worker Noah LeBlond loads up supplies and gear at the company's electric operations facility in Exeter on Monday afternoon before he and other line workers deployed to Georgia to help restore power in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
- Bottom & Teaser Image: Unitil line worker Charlie Small loads gear onto a bucket truck before heading to Georgia with a crew to assist with power restoration following Hurricane Helene.
