Raleigh, N.C. —The Pole Top Rescue competition previously scheduled for Oct. 30 has been postponed to Nov. 27 because of Hurricane Sandy. North Carolina’s electric cooperative line crews, including many of the competitors scheduled to participate next Tuesday, are preparing in case they need to help with power restoration efforts along our coast and out of state.
Forecasts indicate that Hurricane Sandy could bring high winds and rain to North Carolina’s coastal communities before making landfall in the mid-Atlantic, creating the potential for power outages all along the east coast. When severe weather causes outages, electric cooperative line crews begin working immediately to restore service in a safe and efficient manner. Line crews from unaffected co-ops in North Carolina will first be dispatched to the electric cooperatives in our state that require additional assistance, and any remaining crews will be sent out of state to affected areas farther north.
The deployment of crews is part of a mutual aid agreement shared between the nation’s nearly 1,000 electric cooperatives to help one another in times of emergency, like natural disasters. Electric cooperatives across the country use the same line system engineering standards, which means line crews from any part of the country can quickly help sister cooperatives with restoration efforts.
“Restoring electricity is job one, and North Carolina’s electric cooperative linemen are very dedicated to their mission,” said Nelle Hotchkiss, senior vice president of corporate relations for North Carolina’s electric cooperatives. “Our priority is to restore power to co-op consumers that need help, even if that means postponing the Pole Top Rescue competition,” she said.
More information about the Nov. 27 Pole Top Rescue competition will be forthcoming, and you can also stay up to date on Twitter, @ncpoleclimb.
North Carolina’s electric cooperatives provide energy to 2.5 million people in 93 of 100 counties, primarily in the rural parts of state. The electric cooperatives own and maintain 98,000 miles of power lines.