OG&E Staffing Nearly 2,000 People For Ice Storm Response

Oklahoma Gas and Electric is preparing for a possibly large ice storm coming to the state. Starting Thursday night, crews will be all hands-on deck.

“We experienced it a year ago,” said Kathleen O’Shea with OG&E. She remembers the big ice storm from winter 2015. Their company was busy then, and this weekend could be similar.

She said, “We have already reached out to other contractors in other states to see if we can get some crews to come in to supplement ours.”

Thursday night, 1,100 linemen, 100 assessors, and 65 vegetation crews are coming in to help during the upcoming storm. There could be more added to the list as the forecast solidifies.

O’Shea said there will be around 2,000 people working the storm.

“With an ice storm, it’s probably going to be at least two to three days before your power might be restored,” said O’Shea.

Oklahomans could be without lights and heat in frigid temperatures, so it is important to have a plan.

OG&E’s priority will be hospitals, police departments and fire departments, where first response is critical. They are warning those with a health condition that require oxygen tanks or electric machines to have a back-up plan in case power goes out.

If your power goes out at home, call OG&E to report it. This way, they can keep track of the outages and work on a plan of restoration.

O’Shea recommends that people charge up their cell phones, laptops, tablets and have external chargers as a backup.