Dec 27 - Tulsa World

About 300 more homes have power restored, with an additional 100 anticipated by this morning.

The number of Tulsa homes without power continued to shrink Sunday as about 300 more residences had electricity restored, said Presston Kissman, vice president of American Electric Power- Public Service Company of Oklahoma.

By Monday morning, AEP-PSO crews were expected to have restored power to 100 more homes, he said.

"If people still don't have power, they need to contact us," Kissman said. "We have crews ready and standing by."

An AEP-PSO spokesman estimated the number of homes in the Tulsa area without power because of weatherhead damage was fewer than 500 on Sunday night.

Meanwhile, volunteer electricians with "Operation Power Up!" on Sunday continued to fan out through the city to restore power to homes with weatherhead and meter damage.

Electricians Scott Duncan, 38, and Jason Kessler, 32, said they restored the power to five homes, spending at least an hour at each location.

However, their day didn't come without bumps in the road.

The two said they could have restored the power to about seven more homes had residents been present when they arrived, or had they not gone to some homes where damaged weatherheads and meters had already been repaired.

"That's a sign that more residents are getting their power back on," said Duncan, who has voluntarily worked 12 to 15 hours a day for the past week.

Kessler and Duncan on Saturday repaired a damaged meter at Jamie Allen's homes.

Allen, 27, said she called the mayor's action line and said the two men came to her home the next morning.

"This is a huge weight off of our shoulder," she said. "This needed to be done, and saving money was a big factor. It would have cost us (a lot)."

On Monday, the headquarters for "Operation Power Up!" will switch locations from Expo Square to the Tulsa Fire Department Training Center, 1760 Newblock Park Drive.

Mayor Kathy Taylor said "Operation Power Up!" essentially is over, except for electricians who will continue working to restore power.

Taylor said officials have closed the 10 command posts established for volunteers.

She said volunteer efforts will continue, but many of the workers will be affiliated with Guts Church Team Relief.

The "Operation Power Up!" telephone number, (866) 789-8898, will be answered from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Monday.

After that, residents can call the mayor's action line at 596- 2100 about weatherhead problems until Dec. 31.

A total of 25 Oklahoma counties have been approved for federal disaster aid to assist with infrastructure damage caused by the Dec. 9-10 ice storm. Those counties will receive federal funding to assist local governments with repairs to roads, bridges and public facilities, debris removal, and other such costs.

Deon Hampton 581-8413

deon.hampton@tulsaworld.com

Originally published by DEON HAMPTON World Staff Writer.

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