CLEVELAND — Parts of the Deep South are experiencing freezing temperatures not felt in more than 100 years. The power outages that at one point impacted more than 4 million people in Texas alone have many wondering if Ohio electric crews will send help.
Lauren Siburkis works for FirstEnergy and says the immediate answer is no.
“This time we are planning to hold our resources here in Ohio in the event that we do experience outages from the winter storm expected later this week,” says Siburkis.
The Ohio Department of Transportation is also not involved with sending any crews or equipment South to help clear roads.
The reason? Their eyes are glued to local forecasts to keep Ohio roads safe.
“It definitely helps up prepare for things as they come in. When we’re able to see that stuff it helps us determine when we should start our shifts and when we should start pretreating roads,” says Isaac Hunt with ODOT.
While state officials are encouraging people to stay off the road if possible, know that sending our linemen and women to help restore power is an option once Ohio gets through the next big weather system.
“We will reassess this decision and could send crews to Texas as early as Friday if the weather passes through and doesn’t impact our service area here,” says Siburkis.
A lot of people are wondering why Texas has been absolutely crippled by this weather. Texans simply aren’t used to temperatures this cold and don’t have enough equipment to keep the power on. Also, Texas is the only state in the nation where most of the state has its own electric grid, which makes it more challenging to get help in times of need like right now.
By the way, if you’re looking forward to the warmer weather, Spring starts on Saturday, March 20.
More headlines:
- Winter storm in Northeast Ohio: Real-time updates of how the snow evolved
- City of Canton opens warming centers for those in need during extreme winter weather
- Weather causes delays in COVID-19 vaccine shipments to Ohio: Recap of Gov. Mike DeWine's Tuesday briefing
- ODOT truck involved in fatal crash in Medina County