Mississippi Power team delivers power to first customers in Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria
Mississippi Power announced recently that its team assisting with service restoration in Puerto Rico delivered power to its first customers after a month of making repairs.
“We have been working extremely hard since we’ve been here and making a lot of progress, so it was a great feeling to get to the point where we were able to turn on some lights,” Engineering Supervisor Matt Ball said. “This was a huge boost for everyone. The customers were very pleased and appreciative. We are waiting for the substation where we were working previously to be energized so that we can close our fuses and have a victory lap there.”
The team has moved to a new feeder assignment, working with a team from Gulf Power on a job that includes 25 spans winding up a mountain.
“Luckily, the wire is up for most of the spans,” Ball said. “Tree trimming will be the primary focus with some leaning poles, burnt jumpers, slack phases and secondary on the ground.”
Mississippi Power President and CEO Anthony Wilson recently visited the crew in Puerto Rico in Maricao where they were setting a new pole, picking up primary and secondary conductor and setting two transformers for a water well.
“This team is showing the people of Puerto Rico what our customers have known for a long time — our company shines in storm restoration,” Wilson said. “They are representing every Mississippi Power employee by being here, and I wanted to tell them in person how proud we are of them.”
