KCP&L crews return home after helping restore power post-Sandy

After more than two weeks of restoration work on the East Coast following Hurricane Sandy, approximately 170 KCP&L employees are headed home. Beginning late last week, crews started making the two-day trip back to the Kansas City metropolitan area, among them Chris Julian, Mike Woody and Adam O'Farrell, employees from the Nevada Service Center.

"We anticipate that by early next week all of our crews will have returned to our service territory," said Duane Anstaett, KCP&L vice president of delivery. "We are proud of all of the work that our crews did to assist power restoration to millions of affected East Coast residents. From repairing damaged poles to completely rebuilding electrical circuits our employees kept safety as their top priority, which we value at KCP&L."

KCP&L sent four separate groups to assist with the restoration efforts in the Northeast.

* Group 1 was sent to help Connecticut Light & Power and returned home on Saturday, Nov. 10.

* Group 2 assisted United Illuminating in Connecticut and returned home on Monday, Nov. 12.

* Group 3 helped Con Edison in New York City and are expected to return home later this week.

* Group 4 was sent to New Jersey to assist PSE&G and returned home on Monday, Nov. 12.

Because crews were sent to several different areas the damage they encountered varied drastically. In Connecticut crews primarily focused on damaged equipment caused by trees.

"The damage was similar to a severe thunderstorm that we would see around Kansas City," said Corey Miller, KCP&L East and Southeast District Manager who traveled with the crews who assisted CL&P. "Safety is always our biggest concern with a storm like this because there are so many variables in these types of situations. However, our crews know what to look for and the proper steps needed to protect themselves," Miller said.

These four teams encompass line workers and several support personnel, including safety employees, managers, supervisors, materials representatives and mechanics from throughout KCP&L's service territory.

KCP&L has been awarded the ReliabilityOne award by PA Consulting Group five years in a row.

This means it is recognized as one of the most reliable utilities in the country. Because of this KCP&L is often one of the first utilities to be called on during emergency situations.

like Hurricane Sandy.