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Stories From the Field: Utility Customer Praises Storm Restoration Crew

Stories From the Field: Utility Customer Praises Storm Restoration Crew

Published on: July 31, 2020

Categories: Stories from the Field

Danella service left a positive impression on a Michigan resident while restoring power in the wake of a storm.

In late June, Danella received a letter from a Michigan address. Inside was a note from a Mary C.

Thank you for sending a team of gentlemen to Battle Creek, Michigan, to repair storm damage. Your men restored power in my neighborhood on June 13th. Their skill, teamwork, and understanding of what needed to be done was apparent.

What needed to be done could be considered intense work. On Saturday, June 13, 2020, severe weather had rolled through Battle Creek and surrounding areas.

“We were contacted by our client, a major utility company in the state of Michigan. More than 150,000 of their customers had lost power. We immediately got to work,” explains Frank Renner, Operations Manager at Danella Power Services.

Following a standard assessment that includes a Job Hazard Analysis, more than 90 Danella line mechanics were dispatched to the Battle Creek, Michigan area. They moved quickly without sacrificing safety or diligence.

“We are very aware of the conditions that residents are under when they lose power. Especially in the summer, there’s a real need to get air conditioners and refrigerators back up and running. Nowadays, a lack of electricity also means the chance of losing connection to the outside world once phones and computers lose their charge,” says Renner.

Still, the job wasn’t an easy one. The storms had wreaked havoc on Battle Creek’s electrical infrastructure.

“Multiple pole replacements and transformer replacements were needed just for the restoration Mary wrote about. It was quite involved,” Renner recalls.

Crews worked for 16 hours a day to restore power to the area. “We often have nearby residents approach us to ask when power will be restored,” Renner says. “We can’t always give them a definite answer, but we do our best to be kind, responsive, and considerate. Again, we know how stressful it is to be without power.”

Mary C. might have been one of the utility customers Danella talked to that day. Her letter went on to compliment Danella’s safety, equipment, and work practices, and ended with this:

[Danella service crews] were friendly and respectful…Please thank each person on that team who came to my neighborhood. They exemplify excellence in the work they did and serve as an example of your company’s commitment to getting the right job done in the right way. Other businesses should emulate your company and its work principles.

Mary and her neighbors had their power restored shortly after the severe weather tore through, taking poles and transformers with it.

“We are very happy that a utility company client had a positive experience with Danella,” Renner says.

Have a construction project for the Danella Team? Contact us today to learn more about how we can help.