POWERGRAMS

Crews quickly restore power statewide after tornadoes cause widespread outages April 2014 arrived peacefully enough, but the final week brought tragedy as tornadoes killed three Alabamians, damaged many homes and businesses and caused the 16th-largest outage in Alabama Power history. On Monday evening, April 28, roiling tornadoes, high winds, rain and heavy lightning swept much of the state, leaving about 108,000 customers without power. Most of the heavy damage occurred in western, central and eastern Alabama: Oneonta, Kimberly, Graysville, Adamsville, West Jefferson, Birmingham, Tuscaloosa and Salem. Company line crews and evaluators hit the ground quickly, restoring power to customers in areas where service could be received. The morning of April 29, Alabama Power President and CEO Mark Crosswhite, Power Delivery Vice President Danny Glover and Transmission Vice President Scott Moore met with Storm Center personnel and more than 70 Power Delivery employees companywide to strategize how to safely restore service during the predicted, two- day weather event. Power Delivery evaluators quickly determined the status of most power lines, equipment and needed repairs. With company and off-system line personnel onsite in each of Alabama Power's six divisions, they quickly repaired damaged poles and equipment. Corporate Services, Fleet, Security, IT and other departments worked together during restoration. At midday April 29, less than 30,000 customers were without power. By that evening, 450 off-system line crew personnel were assisting. At midnight, April 30, most outages were repaired. Birmingham Division Distribution Manager Pam Boyd said the cities of Adamsville and Graysville, with 60 broken poles, and Kimberly, with 45 broken poles, saw the most damage. "All customers in those areas who could take service were restored by the early morning hours April 30," Boyd said. In Tuscaloosa, where many residents continue recovering from the devastating April 27, 2011 tornadoes, there was a widespread feeling of anxiousness, said Western Division Distribution Manager Harry Gabriel. "We knew the breadth of the devastation wasn't as bad compared to three years ago," Gabriel said. "The damage was over a smaller area, in residential areas south of I-20, including Woodland Forest, Golden Acres and Bear Creek Road. We finished up repairs around 11:30 p.m. April 30." Some customers in Salem, where tornadoes took down 50 poles and 150 spans of wire, weren't able to accept service because of damages. The company's exceptional response was due, in part, to great planning by many departments before the storm, said David Bynum, team leader, PD-Business Processes. Glover said he is very proud of the employees' response. "Our teams did a great job," he said. "Most importantly, our line crews and other employees maintained Target Zero throughout this storm. Our crews had no recordable injuries and no preventable vehicle accidents. I want our employees to continue the pattern of achieving Target Zero." By Donna Cope RECOVERY 3 April 28-29 storms caused 108,000 outages but most were restored within two days. Crews from all divisions restored power. Photos by Christopher Jones

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