IBEW Local 1245 (Walnut Creek CA) Line Workers Face Additional Hazards in Florida

Hayward crew off to Florida
PG&E sends teams to restore electric service

in hurricane-ravaged state


By Michelle Meyers
STAFF WRITER

Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - HAYWARD -- They've dealt with firestorms in San Diego and windstorms in Anaheim.

But the Hayward-based Pacific Gas & Electric Co. construction crew en route to help out in Florida said it might have a couple of new deadly forces with which to contend.

"Crocodiles and hepatitis," said Mike Agnew, referring to the possible spread of disease due to spilled sewage in the wake of Hurricane Jeanne.

Agnew, a Castro Valley resident, belongs to one of two East Bay PG&E crews traveling to Florida to help restore power to the thousands of residents left in the dark because of damage from four recent hurricanes, said spokesman Brian Swanson. The other Florida-bound crew is based in Antioch.

Agnew and his crew mates, foreman Todd Walker of San Ramon, Greg Foster of Oakley and Micah Williams of Sacramento, were busy Monday morning cleaning and packing up their line and bucket trucks, which were to be shipped on trailers to Florida.

They were scheduled to meet up later in Davis with the other 23 PG&E crews from Northern and Central California also going to Florida. All 130 workers were expected to fly out of Sacramento this morning.

Walker anticipates his crew will start out in Florida with a 36-hour shift, and then continue with 16 hours on and eight hours off for at least one month, he said. "They've had to pretty much start from scratch," he said.

Despite some dread about humidity and mosquitoes, the crew seemed excited to get going. "You know you're going to help people, so that's kind of neat," Walker said.

PG&E is one of the few utilities in the country that still has its own "general construction" division, Walker said. General construction crews, which maintain infrastructure for electric systems, are considered mobile units, so they are used to traveling where they are needed, he said.

The crews are also unique in their "turn-key" training on everything from transmission to distribution, Walker added. "You can see (us) working on everything from steel towers to underground boxes," he said.

PG&E is responding to a request by a storm-battered Florida utility, according to a company statement. The crews will be rebuilding distribution and transmission lines by replacing poles and hanging new wire, the statement said.

Michelle Meyers covers Hayward, Cherryland and Fairview. Call her at (510) 293-2463 or e-mail mmeyers@angnewspapers.com .