Dec 11 - The Daily Oklahoman

Utility companies in Oklahoma on Monday were calling in crews from the Gulf Coast to the Carolinas to help them deal with record-setting power outages.

More than 513,000 homes and businesses across the state were without electricity as darkness fell Monday, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission reported. Utilities warned that some customers could remain without power for a week or longer.

Oklahoma Gas and Electric officials said the storm caused more power outages than any event in the company's history, affecting 237,241 customers as of Monday evening. That total included 215,090 in the Oklahoma City metro area. OG&E's previous high for outages was 195,000 customers from a 2002 ice storm.

PSO of Oklahoma officials said Monday afternoon that system damage was at least as bad as that caused by a Christmas 1987 Tulsa storm. The utility reported 218,915 customers in the dark Monday, including nearly 200,000 in the Tulsa area.

The Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives reported 57,250 rural customers had no power.

How long will it last? Some customers could expect to be without power for at least a week, officials from OG&E and PSO said. Progress Energy Carolinas said it was sending about 160 workers to Tulsa, where it had been advised that homes and businesses are expected to be without power for seven to 10 days.

Andrea Chancellor, PSO Oklahoma spokeswoman, said the storm hit numerous Oklahoma counties and states from the Rockies to the Appalachians.

Chancellor said in downtown Tulsa, hundreds of lines were down criss-crossing city streets. In other places, trees are bent to the ground and have pulled power lines, poles and transformers down with them.

PSO Oklahoma is bringing in employees from surrounding states, including Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. More than 2,000 workers will be on the ground soon. She also said the company is hiring hundreds of independent contractors to trim trees.

Like PSO Oklahoma, OG&E also is calling in help from other utilities -- mainly in Texas and Louisiana. It too is bringing in additional workers to help with tree trimming.

Chancellor urged utility customers not to try to trim their own trees. She also urged customers without power to seek alternative shelter.

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