Power companies lining up
By MIKE CORN
ANTONINO -- Even though power poles were floating in rain-swollen road ditches, contract construction crews continued the task of rebuilding 430 miles of lines for Western Cooperative Electric.
Crews with Custom Powerline Construction, an Oklahoma-based contractor, have been working around fast-flowing water to replace a stretch of line south of Antonino.
There's plenty of line-building going on, thanks to a late 2006 ice storm that snapped power poles like twigs.
WaKeeney-based Western Co-op is in a three-year process of rebuilding 430 miles of electric lines in its "native" territory -- the eight-county region that existed before Western nearly doubled in size when it joined in the purchase of a system that had been owned by Aquila Inc.
The 430 miles of lines being replaced were damaged in the wake of a storm in the final days of 2006, when several inches of ice accumulated on lines. Electricity for many in the area was cut off, some for as long as two weeks.
Western Co-op wasn't alone in feeling the pain of the storm. Midwest Energy in Hays and Prairie Land, based in Norton, saw extensive damage.
Damage at Prairie Land amounted to nearly $40 million, while Midwest had damages amounting to about $60 million.
Western's damage amounted to $25 million, 85 percent of which will be covered by federal and state money.
All three had already been reeling from an ice storm that pummeled some areas in November 2005.
That's why all three have adopted in-house references to the storms based on disaster applications with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Antonino work, for example, is part of FEMA 2, the second disaster application.
In each case, FEMA has agreed to pay for three-fourths of the damage, with the state kicking in an addition 10 percent of the cost.
Already, said Western spokesman Dennis Deines, 40 to 50 miles of line has been rebuilt.
"They're moving right along," he said.
But it's going to be several years before the task is complete.
In addition to rebuilding lines, Deines said another 7,000 poles will need to be straightened -- brought back plumb with the rest of the string of poles.
"They are now leaning," he said, thrown off-kilter as a result of the weight of the ice on the lines.
"It's a very labor-intensive thing to move the pole," he said.
That's because crews have to auger and shovel out soil on whatever side the pole needs to move to.
Currently, crews are then refilling the holes and tamping the soil so that the pole is solidly back in the ground. But they are considering the use of a foam -- much like an expansion foam that can be purchased at hardware stores -- to fill in the gaps that are left when the poles are moved.
Western has also had to expand its storage area for supplies necessary to do the rebuilding work.
They were able to lease a building across the road from their WaKeeney headquarters for the rebuilding supplies, which must be accounted for separately under terms of the FEMA contract.
While they don't have all of the supplies on hand to do all the work, it is an extensive process.
Deines said 18 poles are needed for each mile of line being rebuilt, which means nearly 8,000 poles will ultimately have to be purchased and put into place.