Seguin Electric Utilities crew helps with storm recovery

Seguin Electric Utilities crew helps with storm recovery Main Photo

6 Sep 2020


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Joe Martin The Seguin Gazette

When Hurricane Laura wrought devastation throughout the Gulf Coast, many residents in the category 4 storm’s path found themselves without power. Equipped with the know-how, resources and experience to help, a crew from the city of Seguin’s Electric Utilities department stepped up to lend a hand.

At the helm of the crew is Seguin Electric Utilities electric superintendent Freddy King, who has more than 20 years of experience as a lineman, and is no stranger to hurricanes.

“This is the first time ever the city of Seguin has brought a crew to restore power [after a] hurricane,” King said. “ The guys are amazed. It’s quite an adventure, that’s for sure.”

King and his crew of five started their journey in San Augustine on Aug. 27 and has moved to where they’re needed.

On Thursday, the crew was in Newton with plans to head home at the end of the weekend.

Since they began, the crew has worked 16-hour days, replaced broken power poles and repaired downed power lines to bring electricity back to the communities that were devastated by the storm, King said.

“It feels great to come all the way down from Seguin to restore power to these customers out here, and helping other municipalities is quite an opportunity,” King said. “I feel honored that my director took it upon himself — and confidence with my experience. I feel honored that my men are all down here as well. It’s been quite an experience for them. It’s something they will never forget, that’s for sure.”

The biggest hurdle the crew faced is the weather, with temperatures soaring above 105 degrees, King said.

“It’s very hot,” he said. “We ran into some rain when we first got here and some bad storms. There was a storm that caught us while we were working that we had to get out of. We waited it out, and finally, it cleared up, and then we got into some muddy areas.”

Braving the heat is worth helping people in need, King said.

“The city manager from San Augustine welcomed us with open arms, and they just couldn’t thank us enough, and the guys were like ‘wow, that’s amazing how they are so appreciated by us,’” King said. “They had no power, but we stayed at a bed and breakfast, and they made sure that we had power and a comfortable place to be in. They did that for us, and we went on and restored their power in three days.”

Although this is the first time Seguin Electric Utilities has provided hurricane relief, it is not King and his crew’s first rodeo with disaster aid, he said.

King took a team to Kerrville after a tornado blew through the area earlier this year.

“We assisted them, and that was a breakpoint there,” King said. “I took the same crew I have now, and we worked on their system they have there for about three days, and that made a point that I can take a crew if there’s ever a disaster.”

King and Seguin director of Electric Utilities Clarence Smith began planning their relief efforts before Laura even made landfall.

“We discussed how many guys we could take; of course, we’ve got to have enough people back home to keep the city going,” King said. “So, we decided to take five men and myself, and we brought two buckets, a digger. We brought a backyard machine, and I said ‘we’ll just tackle it and see what comes our way.’”

Joe Martin is a staff writer for the Seguin Gazette. You can e-mail him at joe.martin@seguingazette.com .

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