Diverse Power helps restore power lost in Hurricane Michael

Published 6:53 pm Monday, October 29, 2018

Members of LaGrange Diverse Power’s office assisted in restoring power in southern Georgia due to Hurricane Michael. According to a press release from Diverse Power, about 150 to 175 employees from the company and other electric cooperatives worked on restoring power.

The LaGrange employees worked 16 to 18 hours a day and sent meals twice a day from the city to Cuthbert to feed the workers, according to a press release.

“The main reason we went to south Georgia is because we have another district — the Diverse Power Pataula District, which is headquartered in Cuthbert Georgia,” said Ken Pope, residential services marketing coordinator. “We serve all or part of seven counties down there.”

According to a press release, the Patuala district includes Randolph, Clay, Calhoun, Quitman, Stewart and Terrell counties. 

Pope said after they fixed the Diverse Power’s lines, they went and helped Three Notch EMC, which is stationed in Donalsonville. 

“They had 100 percent of their employees without power and their office actually sustained damage,” Pope said. “They were in desperate need of help to get power back on.”

According to a Diverse Power press release, crews worked for nine days to restore power. Pope said electrical membership corporations are like a family when helping each other out.

“We were created by FDR in the 1930s, and we’re a family,” Pope said. “Anytime the EMC can help out another EMC, we’re always ready and willing to do that and the same is reciprocal. We’ve traveled much further than Georgia.”