News
GRDA, Skiatook crews head to Florida to help restore power
Sep 27, 2022
A crew consisting of Grand River Dam Authority and City of Skiatook employees gather to go over last-minute details on Tuesday morning, September 27, prior to leaving for Florida. They were headed to the Tallahassee area to assist the municipally owned utility there with electric system restoration, following any damage caused by Hurricane Ian. It is a part of a nationwide American Public Power Association (APPA) mutual aid effort.
As Hurricane Ian slowly approaches the state of Florida, powerline maintenance crews from the Grand River Dam Authority and the City of Skiatook are also headed that way. With the hurricane expected to make landfall on Wednesday, these crews, representing Oklahoma’s public power team, will be staged to move in immediately after the storm, to help with power restoration efforts in the Florida panhandle.
The group of volunteers includes 17 GRDA employees and four from Skiatook Electric. Among the contingent are electric linemen, vegetation management personnel, mechanics, and law enforcement. They left Pryor at 6AM on Tuesday, September 27, to make the nearly 950-mile drive to Tallahassee. They will stage just outside of the area until the storm passes and then plan to move in to help the City of Tallahassee’s public power utility with restoration efforts.
The crews will be lending a hand in Florida as part of a nationwide American Public Power Association (APPA) mutual aid effort.
In previous years, GRDA and other Oklahoma public power crews have also provided mutual aid assistance following other hurricanes in Florida, along with Texas, Louisiana, and North Carolina.
GRDA is Oklahoma’s largest public power electric utility; fully funded by revenues from electric and water sales instead of taxes. Each day, GRDA strives to be an “Oklahoma agency of excellence” by focusing on the 5 E’s: electricity, economic development, environmental stewardship, employees, and efficiency.
GRDA and Skiatook have been public power partners since 1977.