When a storm hits and the power goes out, everyone is anxious to have the system restored.
Despite the knowledge that weather systems have become more unpredictable and dramatic, not everyone can afford a generator, even a portable one. When a weather event happens, people are dependent on those who can help, people like Bruce Dubeau, of Maxville.
First response hydro workers are key to getting the power back on as fast as possible. Transmission towers and poles, especially older ones, can be brought down in strong winds, an abundance of freezing rain or, as seen more frequently, flash flooding that clears everything in its path.
Holland Power Services (HPS), of Iroquois, provides crews to restore power to communities, especially in emergency situations. When people have been told to evacuate their towns because of a dramatic weather event, the trucks from HPS are heading in the opposite direction, right to where the storm is expected to hit.
HPS has over 350 vehicles maintained and ready to go at all times, to assist along the eastern seaboard in Canada and the US. Trucks are located in strategic locations close to the Canada-US border, in Maine, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick. HPS has bucket trucks to reach high poles and wires and digger derricks with large augers on a boom to dig holes for replacement poles.
The team includes retired line personnel with experience from hydro companies and apprentices who are learning the trade and gaining more hands-on experience. The team is on-call and prepared to head out when they receive a text message that help has been requested. Holland Power Services respond to call for power restoration anywhere, but generally provide assistance in the Northeastern United States such as New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts, but more recently to Florida, the Carolinas, Ontario and the Maritime Provinces to name just a few. When requested, the crews try to get in place before the weather event hits the area.
Dubeau, a retired Hydro One employee, is one of these professionals who travels with the crews to assist in restoring power and helping communities in need.
The recent weather disaster in the Carolinas proved to be one of the more challenging assignments for the crews, but the resilience of the human spirit was in full display during very challenging conditions. In this situation 1,000 people including utility workers and support crews were encamped right in the disaster area in tight quarters, others in hotels without power or running water. But Holland Power Services utilizes a resourceful logistics team to ensure personnel was well fed and cared for so the crews could do their jobs. And from there, the sea of utility trucks travelled south to Florida to face the arrival of hurricane Milton while residents fled north to safety.
When asked what inspired him to join HPS, Dubeau said he enjoys the opportunity to meet new people, try regional foods, work with old friends and explore more rural areas where tourists don’t often visit. He says the crews are treated well and people in the affected areas are so thankful for their arrival. There is great satisfaction knowing he has used his skills to be part of a team that helps communities in need.
