Cartersville Electrical crews on way to help N.C. Irene victims

Media release: The City of Cartersville Electric System has sent utility crews to turn the lights back on in North Carolina.

Hurricane Irene caused damage all along the east coast over the weekend and the City of Cartersville deployed crews Sunday to Robersonville, North Carolina and surrounding communities, to assist municipal utilities with repairs to poles and lines affected by the storm.

As a public power provider, Cartersville extends support to other public power providers through Mutual Aid. Under this agreement, unaffected utilities offer crews and resources to areas that have large power outages to get the lights back on quickly.

"Municipal electric utilities greatly benefit from the network that results from Mutual Aid," said City of Cartersville Electric System Director David Myers. "We all help each other, and in the aftermath of a massive storm like Irene, Cartersville is happy to provide assistance."

In Georgia, mutual aid efforts are being coordinated by Jon Beasley, the Superintendent of Training & Safety with Electric Cities of Georgia (ECG), an organization that provides economic and strategic services to municipal utilities in Georgia.

"It's not just turning the lights back on. Repairing downed lines allows these communities affected by the storm to get back to their lives, their jobs, and their families," said David Myers.