SHREWSBURY – After Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton hit the southeastern United States in September and October crews from SELCO, Shrewsbury’s town-owned electricity provider, traveled to Florida and Georgia to help with the rebuilding process.
“We have a great group of linemen here – a great group of people. The call came from the New England Public Power Association (NEPPA) at 12 p.m., and they were on the road, on the highway, by 4 p.m. It was an opportunity to go help some people, and they packed up and said, ‘Absolutely.’ They were excited to help out,” said SELCO Electrical Supervisor Sean Quinlivan.
Matt Ahlstrand and Matt Trotto, two linemen, arrived in Fitzgerald, Ga., on Sept. 25, and returned home on Oct. 6 after several 18-hour days of restoring substations and electrical infrastructure. Linemen Jeff Huard and Jon Bishop left for Orlando, Fla., on Oct. 6 and returned on Oct. 14. Huard and Bishop spent the time splicing, hanging, and re-energizing wires.
After coming back to SELCO, the linemen debriefed and discussed how they could use the disaster-relief experience to help Shrewsbury.
“They go down with other municipalities from around here. They’re able to learn new things from the system down there – new tools, new procedures, and more-efficient ways to restore power. We learn from other municipalities we don’t get to work side-by-side with. We learn new things, we take it back home, and we apply it to SELCO,” said Quinlivan.
