HOUSTON, May 20 (Reuters) – Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co, a
unit of OGE Corp, has begun to assess damage to its
electric grid following Monday’s tornado which left a path of
destruction near Oklahoma City, a spokesman said Monday evening.
The utility has also called on outside utilities to help
restore power in the area.
OG&E; spokesman Brian Alford could not supply details about
possible damage to OG&E;’s high-voltage network on Monday.
“We have a mix of outages on our system and are beginning
the assessment process to determine the full extent of the
damage to our transmission and distribution system,” Alford
said.
Alford said about 38,000 customers were without power early
Monday evening. Nearly half the outages were in Moore, an
Oklahoma City suburb.
The tornado, with winds of up to 200 miles per hour, ripped
through two elementary schools and a hospital.
Monday’s tornado followed a path similar to a devastating
tornado that struck the state on May 3, 1999. That tornado
ripped down four of five major power lines serving Oklahoma
City, crumpling massive transmission towers and destroying
substations and transformers.
It took months to rebuild OG&E;’s high-voltage network. OG&E;
reported more than $15 million in tornado damage in 1999.
Officials with the Southwest Power Pool, a grid agency that
oversees the bulk power system in Oklahoma and neighboring
states, could not be reached for comment.
