Some Residents Unaware Of Power Up Program

There has been more fallout from the ice storm.  Joe Knight has power, but not much else.  That's because he paid his own money to get his electrical system fixed, before he ever learned about Operation Power Up.  That's the city-sponsored program that pays electricians to make repairs to people's homes.  The News On 6's Steve Berg reports some people say they would have used Operation Power Up, if they had known about it.

Joe Knight thought he had one of two choices, go without electricity or pay $600 to an electrician to fix his weather head and meter box.

"In order for me to actually get electric, I had to pay for it myself, which was quite a bit, took all my money that I saved up," said Knight.

He actually had a third choice.  Schedule an electrician through Operation Power Up to have the work done for free.  The problem is that he didn't know about that.

"No, not at the time," said Knight.

Unfortunately, the city says Operation Power Up will not reimburse homeowners, even partially, who have paid their own electrician.  And Knight says he hasn't found any other help.

"I called FEMA, and they told me that there was no kind of assistance for Oklahoma," said Knight.

At least not for individuals, not yet.  The Urban League is gathering agencies together in a Disaster Recovery Center to help with things like food and some other home repairs, but as of now, there are no plans for help with things like rent money, utility bills, or electric repair costs.

"Don't make a whole lot of money because I go to school, but what I do make, it goes for rent, bills, and my school payments, so," said Knight.

So ironically, in this case, Knight was too early with his repairs instead of too late.

The deadline to sign up for Operation Power Up is 5 p.m. on Monday.  The number to call is 596-2100.