Anadarko Slowly Restores Power To Customers With Aging Infrastructure

A cold rain fell in Anadarko Wednesday afternoon as utility crews worked to restore power to the city. 

Back in March, city officials told News 9 their power grid was one severe weather event away from failure. According to City Manager Kenneth Corn, of the approximately 1,600 power poles, around 240 need to be replaced immediately due to rotting. 

Some poles have been in the ground for 50 years. A historic ice storm was the last thing officials needed for the infrastructure.  

“We’ve been kind of trying to avoid something like this,” said Corn Wednesday. “Our power system hasn’t had any maintenance done in quite some time.” 

There is no power at Francine Zamacona’s home. A massive tree came crashing down onto the roof taking a window out with it. 

“It was on this electric line, so we were kind of scared to mess with it,” said Zamacona. “We called the city and tried to get ahold of people, and they came out.” 

Power restoration efforts began Monday during the first wave of the ice storm after a main line went down. Crews were successful in resorting power until Tuesday when additional freezing rain took out trees and powerlines. 

“As soon as we make any type of improvements and some progress, we get another tree down and that takes everything we just finished out,” said Corn.  

Crews from Miami, Sallisaw and Wagner have descended to Anadarko to assist with power restoration. On Tuesday, another main line powering the city went down. 

“Some of the things that we identified that we need to have improved has actually failed during this ice storm,” said Corn. “We have cross arms down. We now have poles that are leaning because they are rotted, we may lose some of those.” 

Two weeks ago, city council approved a $4 million plan for utility upgrades, power pole replacements for some areas included. 

With winds in the forecast, anxiety sets in once again.  

“We’re probably looking recovery probably at least a month before we get everything back to where it was,” said Corn.  

It could be at least another day or two before power is completely resorted in Anadarko. All depending on upcoming winds.