East Coast power companies are struggling to restore power to millions of customers in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, and Xcel energy in Colorado is sending crews to help.
22 vehicles and 38 Xcel employees including 29 linemen are heading to Charleston, West Virginia to lend a hand. Xcel spokesman Gabriel Romero says it’s an unspoken industry standard that power companies assist each other in times of need.
“Obviously it’s a volunteer situation so people would go out on their own time to help out. We’ve done things over the years; we’ve also had utility companies come into our own territory and help us out.”
West Virginia saw everything from Sandy including rain, flooding, and several feet of snow as the hurricane walloped the state.
Credit US Fish And Wildlife Service / Northeast Region/ Creative Commons
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Northeast Region/ Creative Commons
Meanwhile, paramedics from the Pikes Peak region are helping New Jersey with search and rescue missions. And medics from Colorado Springs and 3 more from Pueblo were in place before the storm made landfall.
