MILWAUKEE — More than two dozen We Energies workers hit the road Wednesday morning to assist Florida utilities as Hurricane Milton bears down on the state. The crews are responding to a call for help as Florida residents prepare for likely power outages and storm damage.
We Energies crews packed up their gear and trucks and drove off Oct. 9 from the Racine Service Center. They plan to stop near Nashville for the night and then head into Florida where they will join crews from across the country in what is expected to be a massive power restoration effort.
“My kids asked me why I’m going; I told them ‘we’re going to help people. We’re going down to help people’,” said Nate Schkeryantz, a We Energies operations manager who is making the trip. “People are going to need our support and we’re going to give it.”
We Energies sister utility, Wisconsin Public Service (WPS), also sent approximately 25 workers to help in Florida. They left from Green Bay Oct. 9.
Late last month, 100 We Energies and WPS contract workers were sent to help utilities restore power following Hurricane Helene. Those contract crews remain in the southern U.S. to help restore expected power outages from Hurricane Milton.
We Energies and WPS are experienced at helping with hurricane restoration efforts. Both companies helped restore power in Puerto Rico following the devastation from Hurricane Maria in 2017. Both companies also assisted in restoring power in Georgia and Florida after Hurricane Irma, and last year they sent crews to help restore power after extreme weather in California.