Alabama Power crews return home after Nicholas restoration effort
Alabama Power crews have wrapped up working in the Houston, Texas, area restoring electricity to CenterPoint Energy customers in the wake of Hurricane Nicholas.
About 400 company and contract personnel from across Alabama traveled to assist the 300,000 CenterPoint customers who lost power when Nicholas made landfall along the Texas coast.
The storm lashed the coast and caused widespread outages and flooding, with fierce winds and a storm surge of up to 5 feet. Nicholas dumped more than a foot of rain on Galveston, while Houston received from 5 to 8 inches, according to media reports.
“Through our mutual assistance agreements, we can deliver the type of service our customers know and trust to those in need following severe weather. We take pride in supporting our fellow utilities,” said Corey Sweeney, Alabama Power Storm Center Operations manager.
Alabama Power and other investor-owned utilities provide support to each other through mutual assistance agreements after major disasters. Alabama Power has a long history of helping other utilities, some as far away as New York City and Chicago, when severe weather causes major outages.
The company’s crews have gained experience at restoring power quickly and safely after all kinds of storm events, including hurricanes, tornadoes, snow and ice storms. That has made Alabama Power a go-to source for other utilities as they seek help with restoration.