News : 350 More REC Members Regain Power

60 line personnel remain in the field, 40 of which are from neighboring cooperatives and contractors, East-Central Iowa Rural Electric Cooperative again made major progress yesterday in restoring power to its members. Power was restored to approximately 350 services yesterday; 50 remained without power as of 7:00 this morning.
According to Steve Marlow, Manager of Operations and Engineering, “Power should be restored to all of our members today.” Marlow reported that work continues to be slowed by the vast amount of debris littering yards and roadways. In many cases crews had to spend 30 minutes cutting away tree limbs and removing other debris before they could get to poles and wires that needed repairing. Marlow goes onto say “There are still down wires and poles throughout Benton County and drivers need take caution as they travel the county roadways, especially as they draw near an area where line crews are working – Everyone’s safety is very important.”
CEO Harry Ruth said, “I would like to thank our members for their patience while repairs are being made. We understand how inconvenient it is to be without electric power. I would also like to thank East-Central’s employees and extend our appreciation to the dedicated line personnel from elsewhere who have stayed to assist us. They have been working in the field for 16 hours
a day four day’s straight to restore power. I cannot say enough good things about their efforts.”