Line technicians from OUC–The Reliable One returned home on Friday, October 4, after a mutual aid deployment to restore power to Gainesville (Alachua County) and Williston (Levy County), which suffered widespread damage due to Hurricane Helene.

Of 100,600 Gainesville Regional Utilities customer accounts in the city, 35,000 were without power when the OUC crews arrived on Friday, September 27.

This initial team was joined on Saturday by OUC line technicians who had provided mutual aid in Williston and had concluded their work in helping restore power to the town, which has 1,462 customer accounts.

“When we rolled into town onto Archer Road from I-75, it looked completely normal,” said Jeff Cockcroft, Line Supervisor. “But once we got closer to the northwest end of town, we saw significant damage. There was a lot of tree damage, especially in rural areas.”

The OUC crews would gather early each morning at the GRU yard for breakfast and to gather supplies before working 16-hour shifts.

“The first couple of days we concentrated on the northwest end of town. But after we finished there, we dispersed and ran calls all over Gainesville,” said Cockcroft.

“The guys really stepped up their game. They knew the task at hand and hit the ground running. It provided a lot of good experience for these guys. It was the first mutual aid deployment for some of them.”

The OUC crews also earned praise from grateful local residents and fellow utility workers:

 

 

The OUC personnel who traveled to Gainesville last Friday, two crews with a total of 11 employees, were:

  • Jeff Cockcroft – Line Supervisor
  • Steve Ramos – Lead Line Technician
  • Christopher Irvine – Line Technician I
  • Frank Akkerman – Line Technician I
  • Elijah Venn – Line Technician II
  • Travis Pugh – Line Technician III
  • Salvador Martinez – Line Technician III
  • Michael Atout – Lead Line Technician
  • Shane Walker – Line Technician I
  • Matthew Coakley – Line Technician I
  • Salvador Magana – Line Technician II

The employees who helped restore power in Williston and then traveled to Gainesville included:

  • Donny Hurley – Lead Line Technician
  • Nolan Myers – Line Technician III
  • Justin Stanley – Line Technician II
  • Shane Yarborough – Line Technician I
  • Joseph Schulte – Line Technician II
  • Trevor Taylor – Line Technician II

The calls for mutual aid from GRU and Williston were coordinated through the Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA).