Lakeland Electric deployed a team of 21 employees to Rock Hill, South Carolina on Jan. 23 to provide mutual assistance recovering from potential impacts from Winter Storm Fern.
A number of Florida cities, including Tallahassee, are deploying crews as a major winter storm is forecast to spread icy conditions across two dozen states.
The Florida Municipal Electric Association, the state’s mutual aid coordinator, has been in communication throughout the week with a nationwide network of public utilities and the American Power Association, working to offer assistance.
According to an FMEA press release, more than 185 workers from 15 Florida public power utilities are heading to Georgia and South Carolina, where they will assist crews with power restoration efforts.
A winter storm is expected to bring snow and ice across the United States and up to New England, according to The Weather Channel.
“More than 200 million people in 35 states are projected to be in the path of Winter Storm Fern, which will begin depositing heavy snow and damaging ice on a swath of more than 2,000 miles of land beginning Friday through Monday,” FMEA executive director Amy Zubaly said in a statement.
“This potentially historic winter storm is expected to cause mass disruption, including widespread and possible long-lasting power outages, particularly from anticipated ice accumulations in parts of the South,” she added.
The city of Tallahassee is sending a team of 17 from the Electric and Fleet divisions on Jan. 24, along with a variety of trucks and equipment to Marietta, Georgia, to help get the power back on after the storm.
“Our highly skilled crews are no stranger to the conditions they may face. They welcome the challenge and will demonstrate the professionalism and heart that Tallahassee is known for,” said Tony Guillen, General Manager of the City of Tallahassee Electric and Gas Utility.
Arianna Otero is the trending and breaking news reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact her via email at AOtero@tallahassee.com and follow her on X: @ari_v_otero.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee utility teams head to Georgia for post-storm aid