Lubbock Power & Light and Xcel Energy both said the electric utilities are sending employees to areas impacted by Hurricane Helene to help with ongoing recovery efforts to restore power after the devastating storm left a path of destruction spanning multiple states in the last week.
LP&L sent 15 crewmembers and 13 vehicles last week from Lubbock to Florida to aid in power restoration. The municipal utility’s crews left on Sept. 24 and waited out the storm in Montgomery, Alabama before continuing on to the affected area.
Xcel said more than 100 workers from Minnesota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas were on their way to Georgia this week. Xcel’s hurricane restoration team includes 31 employees who live and work in Texas and New Mexico communities and departed from Amarillo Wednesday.
More: A week after Hurricane Helene’s landfall, 1M still without power
Line workers and construction crews, along with safety consultants, fleet mechanics and operations leaders, will join their counterparts from other utilities across the country under the industry’s mutual assistance program, the companies said.