OG&E Electric Services responded to calls for assistance with power restoration after Hurricane Rita, sending about 50 men to Louisiana and 20 men to Texas.

“Once again, when disaster strikes, OG&E is called in to help,” said OG&E spokesman Brian Alford. “Our power restoration crews are recognized among the best in the nation, and our people are lining up for the opportunity to serve.”

OG&E had crews based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, since Aug. 29, assisting CLECO Power Company in the Covington area north of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. OG&E executed a crew rotation on Sept. 14 and sent a third group of fresh crews Sept. 28. Western Louisiana, which escaped widespread damage from Katrina Aug. 29-30, was hit by Rita on Saturday, Sept. 24.

OG&E also responded to a call for help from Entergy Texas by sending two transmission construction crews, about 20 men, to work in the Beaumont area, which was hard-hit by Hurricane Rita in the early morning hours Sept. 24.

OG&E participates in the Southeast Electric Exchange Mutual Assistance Program, a network of electric utilities that help each other in times of need after natural disasters. All costs are paid by the utility receiving the assistance.

OG&E is a regulated electric utility serving approximately 740,000 customers in a service area spanning 30,000 square miles in Oklahoma and western Arkansas.