City of Thomasville Utilities are continuing with restoration efforts and as of Tuesday afternoon, seven outages impacting about 45 customers remained. At the peak of Sunday’s storm, nearly 3,000 customers were without electrical service.
“The entire City Council and I are very proud of the response effort of our linemen, utility and public works crews,” said Steve Sykes, City Manager/Utilities Superintendent. “They have put in numerous long hours, away from their own families, to bring our community back to full restoration. “
Sykes also credits the significant assistance that has been given by fellow members of Electric Cities of Georgia (ECG) to help with restoration efforts. Assisting in the Thomasville community were crews from Fort Valley Utilities Commission, City of Cairo, City of Douglas, City of Griffin, City of Monroe, City of Blakely, and City of LaGrange.
“We’ve assisted with similar efforts in other communities when the call for help has gone out, so it is very reassuring to know that assistance is also available to your own community,” said Sykes.
Sykes said that what has also been particularly rewarding for City staff is the outpouring of gratitude and appreciation that they have received from citizens.
“We’ve had numerous calls, emails, and Facebook posts and messages from customers who may be without power, but they are understanding and very appreciative of the work our crews are doing to restore their service,” he said. “The support of the Thomasville community has been incredible.”
Students from the Thomasville Resource Center have sent drawings for utility crews to show their appreciation for their work over the last several days. “Our staff has been working into the early morning hours, taking short rest breaks and then immediately going back out into the field,” said Sykes. “Seeing something as simple as a child’s drawing thanking them for their service is very rewarding.”
Several local businesses have also donated food to help feed utility crews. “Mom and Dad’s Restaurant, Flowers Foods, First Commerce Credit Union and Dr. and Mrs. Kelso all provided meals and/or snacks,” said Sykes. “We want them to know how much their kind gesture was appreciated.”
Sykes said that while the City’s electric system has not yet reached full restoration, all City of Thomasville staff members will keep working toward that goal, which will hopefully be met later today.
“We take pride in the service we deliver to our community, both in normal day-to-day operations and in more extreme situations,” he said. “We will keep working until every customer is fully restored.”