SD WorkersTo Help With Hurricane Sandy

by Ashley Kringen, Reporter
November 02, 2012 9:07 PM


Hundreds of thousands of people are still out of power after Hurricane Sandy tore through the east coast.

The need for power is so large, that energy crews across the nation are being asked to come help, including crews from here in the Midwest.

Sioux Valley Energy and Dakota Energy have sent a crew of six line workers to Long Island New York to help restore power for people affected by hurricane sandy.

It’s not an easy job and there's a lot of danger involved, but these journeyman say they're ready to help.

"We hope we'll be a welcome site and that they'll be happy to see power companies show up and help where we can," said Neises.

Steve Neises, a Journeyman Line worker with Sioux Valley Energy, said they'll be driving through the weekend, hoping to arrive in Long Island on Sunday morning.

"They have bunch of wires breaks and poles down, we're not sure what to expect it's a different area than we're normally working in," said Neises.

Robert Feldhaus, a Journeyman Lineman with Dakota Energy Electric agreed with Neises and is trying to mentally prepare himself for the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

"It's all new to us, we're not really sure what's going to happen once we get there," said Feldhaus.

Feldhaus and Neises, along with four other men in their crew could be working 14 to 16 hour days for the next two weeks, to help fix power lines, bad transformers, and work to get power back on for people in need and the task, isn't easy.

"There's always dangers in a storm, no doubt you're going to have to keep your eyes open, take your time, step by step and you'll come home," said Feldhaus.

He said luckily, working in the Midwest has helped him prepare for any danger he will face on the east coast.

"Mentally we've been tested plenty of times, ice storms about the worst conditions you can get," said Feldhaus.

For both men, they hope they come home feeling accomplished.

"Just the satisfaction of helping people out when they need it," said Neises.

 More than 650,000 people in long island are still without power and it could take weeks until it's fully restored.
The associated press has put the number of dead from hurricane sandy at more than 90 people.