Hurricane Ida Storm Recovery

Thank You to our Customers, Line Crews, Operations and Fleet Managers

On August 29, 2021, Hurricane Ida, a Category 4 storm with winds of 150 mph, made landfall on the Louisiana coast. In its wake, the devastating storm left the state with catastrophic flooding and wind damage.

Before the storm hit, thousands of men and women working in the electric utility industry prepared for the massive loss of utility service bound to happen with a storm as large as Ida. Following the hurricane, more than one million Louisiana residents were left without power.

After the Storm

We interviewed our customers to learn more about what it’s like to be on the ground working recovering the destruction left behind by Hurricane Ida.

Here’s what they had to say:

Joe Boggs, a Fleet Manager for CA-PAR Electric, said the amount of trees, collapsed houses, trailers, overturned tractor trailers and flooding was “Catastrophic.”

For Joe and his crew, sleeping in their trucks and working around the clock is the norm.

“We’re working 16-hour days, seven days a week just trying to help out,” Joe said.

Bobby Dungan, a Right of Way Coordinator for South Louisiana Electric Cooperative Association (SLECA) described Hurricane Ida as, “One of the worst storms I’ve seen in 26 years.”

Because the storm damage is so severe, Bobby and his team will be out working in the field for a few months. While he says this is what he and his fellow linemen signed up for, it’s still difficult to be away from loved ones for so long.

“That’s the worst part of this kind of work, being away from your family,” Bobby said.

Thank You, Utility Professionals

Linemen, operations professionals and fleet managers are the lifeblood of emergency response teams in areas affected by storms. Arriving at their work areas at all hours and in all types of weather, these individuals are true heroes.

For the line crews tasked with storm recovery, challenges such as severe weather, less than ideal sleeping conditions, physically demanding work, and being away from family and friends for extended periods of time were inevitable. These skilled linemen safely repaired damaged structures, utility lines, signs and street lights.

Thank you to our customers, those who operate our equipment to restore utility services, operations teams, fleet managers and the countless other professionals who worked to get things up and running again in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.

We see you and are grateful for everything you do and have done to serve those who depend on your utilities for their everyday needs.

Supporting the Industry

Altec takes our support of the electric utility industry seriously. We work to understand the difficulties linemen and other storm recovery professionals face so we can continue to build a better product. We strive to keep the operators that use our equipment safe and productive.

We know the equipment we manufacture and support is more than just a product; it has the potential to keep communities safe and businesses running. Each Altec associate plays a vital role in making sure our equipment is built for safe and efficient work in the field.

Whether we are welding steel, assembling units, designing new safety features, or testing equipment, we work to reach higher, to build our trucks to the highest standards for the people that serve our communities.

At the end of the day, we understand what we do goes beyond just equipment or parts. It’s helping the best way we know how – by listening and working together to make a tangible difference in the lives of both our customers and communities at large.