Singing River Electric linemen travel to Florida’s Clay Electric Cooperative to aid Hurricane Milton power restoration

For the second time in two weeks, Singing River Electric linemen are traveling to Florida to help a fellow electric cooperative in need following a hurricane.

The 11-man crew came from their respective offices in Jackson, George, and Greene counties to meet in Moss Point before traveling along Interstate 10.

Clay Electric Cooperative, based in Keystone Heights, Fla., currently has 30,839 of their 195,523 meters without power. Their service area is vast, covering 15 counties and including areas around Gainesville, Jacksonville, and Daytona Beach.

“We’re going to get some lights on,” said Construction Foreman Chris Lloyd, who was also a crew member who helped Clay Electric in 2017 after Hurricane Irma.

While veteran crew members are making this trip, some are assisting in a mutual aid capacity for the first time.

“I’m excited to get to go,” said Apprentice Lineman Colter McDuffie. “I hope we can stay as long as we can to help as many people as we can.”

Singing River Electric has weathered many storms in its 86-year history and is a trusted source for power and information. More than 80,000 electric meters are served along 7,800 miles of power lines in seven Mississippi counties and two Alabama counties.

Mississippi Power tells WXXV News 25 they are in the planning stages to send crews to help Florida.

At this time, the company has no definite date for when they will be heading to affected areas.

Coast Electric providing an update following the storm’s landfall as well. Currently there are no plans to send crews to Florida. Crews are still in Georgia following Hurricane Helene.

According to a Coast Electric spokesperson, 20,000 residents are without power in southeastern Georgia. There are no plans to send crews to Florida as an adequate amount of crews are needed on the Coast.