Minnesota electric cooperative send lineworkers to Virginia to restore power after severe ice storm

[Maple Grove, Minn.] — Sixty lineworkers from 19 Minnesota electric cooperatives are heading to Virginia to assist Rappahannock Electric Cooperative with possible outages. A forecasted major winter storm is expected to bring extreme weather with a mix of ice, snow and frigid conditions, causing significant infrastructure damage and power outages by the weekend.

Minnesota’s lineworkers are already on their way as part of a mutual aid effort — a long-standing agreement among electric cooperatives nationwide to support one another during emergencies.

“As electric cooperatives, we operate under seven guiding principles, including cooperation among cooperatives,” said Darrick Moe, president and CEO of the Minnesota Rural Electric Association (MREA). “When a community is hit by severe weather, co-ops don’t hesitate to step up for one another. Our lineworkers are answering that call in Virginia while many are also facing frigid winter conditions here at home.”

Cooperatives in the eastern half of the country are monitoring weather forecasts, staging equipment and soliciting mutual aid help from other cooperatives as they prepare for the severe weather. After the storm moves through, crews will work to repair downed lines, replace damaged poles and restore power as safely and quickly as possible. Ice storms can cause especially dangerous conditions, coating equipment and roadways and increasing the complexity of restoration work.

Moe emphasized the dedication of lineworkers, many of whom leave their own communities and families to help others in need.

“These lineworkers understand what it means to serve,” Moe said. “They go where they’re needed most, often in difficult and dangerous conditions, because that’s what cooperation and concern for community look like in action.”

MREA urges the public to keep all lineworkers in their thoughts and prayers — both those traveling to assist in Virginia and those remaining home to handle any outages and maintenance work amid extreme cold across Minnesota.

 

Cooperatives sending crews:

Freeborn Mower Electric Cooperative, Albert Lea

Benco Electric, Mankato

Connexus Energy, Ramsey

Crow Wing Power, Brainerd

Dakota Electric Association, Farmington

East Central Energy, Braham

Lake Region Electric, Pelican Rapids

Lyon-Lincoln Electric Cooperative, Tyler

McLeod Co-op Power, Glencoe

Meeker Energy, Litchfield

Nobles Cooperative Electric, Slayton

People’s Energy Cooperative, Oronoco

Renville-Sibley Co-op Power, Danube

Runestone Electric Association, Alexandria

Stearns Electric, Melrose

Steele-Waseca Co-op Electric, Owatonna

Todd-Wadena Electric Cooperative, Wadena

Wild Rice Electric Cooperative, Mahnomen

Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric, Rockford