Eversource had about 40 crews working to restore power in southwestern Virginia for more than a week following the devastating flooding from Helene.
The crews from Connecticut are headed home after working to help Appalachian Power restore electricity to the region.
When they arrived, there were well over 100,000 people without power and as of Tuesday, it has dropped to fewer than 1,000 outages remaining.
Cayle Sargent, an electric operations manager for the Torrington district of Eversource said the Appalachian Mountains were challenging to work in because of the steep and hilly terrain, combined with the storm damage of roads and bridges being washed away. So it was difficult to reach locations prior to restoring power.
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“Not only the wind, but also the increased force of that rushing water and flooding coming down those mountains. So that caused a lot of damage that we’re not used to seeing. A lot of washed out roads, washed out bridges, certainly utility infrastructure, homes,” said Sargent.
Sargent said he was proud of the team of lineman and support staff for working hard and representing Connecticut there.
The people in Virginia were beyond grateful, according to Sargent.
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“Always very thankful that we were there. Even people who were without power for well over a week were very patient and very thankful to us,” said Sargent.
Eversource is part of a mutual aid network and has already been engaging in conversations about the upcoming efforts to help with Hurricane Milton.
