AEP-PSO working around the clock to restore power

Being without power is an inconvenience for the thousands of customers still waiting and when it's your own air conditioner or blow dryer that's not blowing, it seems like there's nothing more

Thursday, June 3rd 2004, 3:25 pm

By: News On 6

Being without power is an inconvenience for the thousands of customers still waiting and when it's your own air conditioner or blow dryer that's not blowing, it seems like there's nothing more important.

News on 6 anchor Tami Marler says as an example, drivers are losing their patience at the many 4-way stops throughout town.

For some residents, this outage is much more than an inconvenience.

AEP/PSO has enlisted the help of 300 extra workers, to get through the Tulsa-area's worst power outage in about ten years. "It's a monumental effort. We have crews coming in from Missouri from Louisiana. Resources - both tree and construction resources. Pretty big scale effort. Working around the clock. 24-hour shifts have been going nonstop since the weather had just cleared the Tulsa area."

Steve Baker with AEP-PSO says their number one priority is safety, making sure crews locate all downed power lines that can pose serious hazards. Then they focus on getting power back to the areas where the most callers report outages. "And then prioritize our work based on customer counts and key parts of our infrastructure here in the City of Tulsa as well."

Midtown Tulsa was the hardest hit by this power outage and it could take several days to get everyone back up and running. But some people are literally dying to get their electricity turned back on. "It's horrible. Knocked off everything I had." This 79 year-old woman didn't want to go on camera, but tells us she not only lost all of her refrigerated food, but her very breath. "In order to breathe and stay living, I've gotta use these. If I don't, my life is shortened.â€

Without electricity, the oxygen mixture she's supposed to breathe all day and night, stops pumping. Her portable, pure-oxygen unit is only for occasional use. "I've called yesterday and I tried to call today but I kept getting a computer and couldn't get nobody to talk to me, but she's on oxygen."

Her daughter Wendy has tried, but so far no crews have made their way to Turley, so they'll have to wait. "She said it might be Sunday, it might be a week now."

But no single customer gets priority treatment and AEP-PSO officials say they're working as quickly and safely as they can.