On Monday, August 10, a derecho ripped across the Midwest, causing widespread damage in Iowa. A derecho is characterized by long-lived, straight-lined windstorms and fast-moving severe thunderstorms. The strongest winds were felt in the Highway 30/Interstate 80 corridor and clocked in near 120 mph.
Not only did these hurricane-level winds flatten crops and cause extensive property damage, they left hundreds of thousands of Iowans without power. Governor Kim Reynolds enacted a disaster proclamation for 27 counties.
In the ECI REC service territory, the southern district was hit hardest. At the peak, over 4,000 member-accounts (meters) were without power. An estimated 500 poles were brought down, and ECI REC lost transmission power to 10 of the 12 substations that serve the area.
“The damage was extensive,” said Line Superintendent Tom Schmitt. “We were down to less than 20% of the normal energy supply resources we have available to provide electric service to our members.”
In the days following the storm, ECI REC line crews began working 16- to 18-hour days. Through the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives, we put out a call for six crews, three digger derricks, and three large bucket trucks to assist in repairing the damage to our system. Raccoon Valley Electric Cooperative and North West REC answered the call, along with our longtime contractor Highline Construction, Inc.
The crews re-routed power from the two fully energized substations to partially energize the 10 that were down. CIPCO, our power provider, sent several line crews and personnel to help restore the transmission equipment that feeds these substations. To prevent the circuits at the functioning substations from becoming overloaded, we asked members with power to limit their energy usage.
Two of the four truckloads of new poles arrived early on August 11. Line crews immediately began resetting poles and lines. By August 15, they had reset around 250 poles and put up several miles of line. At the Van Horn substation, transmission crews focused on rebuilding 26 double-circuit transmission structures that were damaged by the storm. In addition to the field work, hundreds of phone calls were handled by ECI REC’s member service reps and our after-hours dispatch.
CEO Teresa Floyd and other members of the ECI REC team made hotel reservations for the mutual aid co-ops. They also secured food and drinks and prepared meals during the week and into the weekend. By the morning of Sunday, August 16, the emergency period of restoration was complete, and the additional crews had headed back home. All member-accounts that were safe to energize had power.
Sources: KCCI, Forbes, Weather.gov