FPB crew headed to Florida to assist in post-Irma power restoration

The Frankfort Plant Board is sending three trucks and a crew to Clewiston, Florida as the area braces for Hurricane Irma. Locals anticipate that the hurricane winds will wipe out power infrastructure in some areas. FPB crews will be on the scene Monday afternoon to start the process of restoring service.

The Florida Municipal Utilities Association reached out earlier this week to the Kentucky Municipal Utilities Association requesting assistance. FPB answered the call and was assigned to the City of Clewiston, which has a population of approximately 7,600.

The crew loaded two bucket trucks, a digger derrick truck and a pickup truck with food, water and as many materials as they could haul. They left Frankfort Sunday morning to caravan with another Kentucky crews from the City of Berea. The group plans to hunker down Sunday night in northern Florida to ride out the storm and arrive in Clewiston Monday afternoon, once local assessments have been made.

“There wasn’t any hesitation or question about whether we could do it,”said Cathy Lindsey, FPB’s public information coordinator. “We just knew it was the right thing to do. In fact, all of our guys wanted to go. In the face of such potential devastation, this is what we can do to help.”

While there are so many unknowns until the storm passes through, the crew plans to be in Florida anywhere from seven to 15 days.

Stay tuned to FPB’s social media sites to stay up to date on the crew’s work in Florida.