Weather forecasters across New England called for freezing rain and the potential for 1 inch of ice buildup on trees and power lines on Dec. 11. Utility companies, mindful of the devastating ice storm of 1998, made calls to sister utilities for additional line crews and then turned to private line companies for support. Overnight and on the morning of Dec. 12, ice-covered branches and trees crashed onto power lines throughout New England, causing 1.25 million homeowners and businesses to lose power. The Weather Channel declared it the worst ice storm in a decade for New England.

On Target Utility Services (Gardiner, Maine) sent line crews and digger crews to assist four utilities — Eastern Maine Cooperative, Bangor Hydro Electric, Central Maine Power (CMP) and Public Service of New Hampshire (PSNH) — during the two-week restoration effort. The crews worked a schedule of 17 hours on and 7 hours off until the emergency ended. The hosting utilities were responsible for the logistics of housing, feeding and supplying the crews in the field. The crews focused on removing branches from power lines, replacing wires and utility poles that were knocked down by the ice storm, and restoring power to thousands of customers.

Although the crews faced tough work conditions, they received immediate gratification as they turned on power to customers who were enduring hardships. For many of the linemen, the restoration work was a welcome change of pace and an experience they will not soon forget.

Preparing the Fleet

On the night of Thursday, Dec. 11, the freezing rain turned Maine's roads into ice skating rinks. Like many businesses, On Target's office didn't escape the destruction of the ice storm. The road directly across from the company's construction yard was in shambles, and by 2:30 a.m., the building lost power, making it nearly impossible to open the electric doors. To make matters worse, the phone network also went down.

Fortunately, the office staff was able to rely on backup power and cell phones to communicate with the field crews. Before the storm hit, On Target designated a manager to stay in the office overnight to coordinate the response effort and handle office operations.

At 3 a.m., the manager on duty chipped a half inch of ice off the line crews' bucket trucks. A mechanic then filled the vehicles with fluids, and had them warmed and ready to go when linemen arrived at 5:30 a.m. Friday morning.

Springing Into Action

The digger crews were dispatched to the service centers where they operated independently of the line crews. The digger crews took direction from the utility line supervisors. The line crews traveled to the utilities and were assigned a “bird dog,” or guide, to get them efficiently around the service system. The line crews also stocked up on storm wire, splices and fuses, and were issued circuit maps for their areas of responsibility.

CMP established “storm packs” to go on each truck that came into a service center. These packs contained an assortment of fuses, typical splices and a small amount of other stock.

The kits were loaded onto trucks in minutes so the crews could be on their way. Next, they assessed additional supplies that were needed on the job, and a bird dog went back to the service center to gather them. This reduced response time, but also cut down on the confusion of having many crews gathering up their supplies simultaneously.