(South Bend, IN) - Indiana Michigan Power has sent another large group of crews to numerous states to help with restoration efforts after Hurricane Helene left a trail of destruction and millions of people without power.

 

In total, officials said 466 I&M employees and business partners are now helping their sister companies, Kentucky Power and Appalachian Power Company, restore service to their customers.

 

Teams include line workers, damage assessors, tree trimming experts, meter technicians, fleet technicians, safety personnel, and various business support staff from across our service area.  Crews are working 16-hour days in hilly, heavily forested and flooded areas in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia.

 

Officials said the big task for restoration workers is repairing and replacing hundreds of broken power poles and thousands of spans of fallen power lines.

 

“We are staying focused on working safely and quickly to get the lights back on for those customers and communities who need it to start cleaning up and rebuilding after the storm,” said Donny Williams, I&M’s Manager of Distribution System in Michigan.

 

I & M officials said there is no timetable for crews to return but the utility remains ready to respond if outages occur locally.