ATLANTA — In a huge parking lot at the headquarters of Georgia Power in northeast Atlanta Tuesday, if they get the call an army will be ready to roll.
“Basically it’s getting ready for what could be that worst-case scenario,” Georgia Power Logistics Manager Tom Perkins told Channel 2′s Berndt Petersen.
Perkins is with Georgia Power’s Storm Response Team.
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They’re preparing for the largest storms there are - hurricanes.
The forecast calls for a very active season in the tropics, which could mean more threats to Florida, the Gulf states, and here at home.
“When you have trees and lines down you can’t just drive into those locations,” Travis Watts said.
He supervises the company’s Unmanned Aerial Systems.
It’s a squad of drones that will be among the first responders.
“It’s been a game-changer for safety, efficiency, and restoring power,” Watts said.
The team features a mobile command unit, mobile kitchen, sleeping trailers, and even a mobile shower and laundry facility.
Semi trucks will haul them as close to the landfall as they can get, with a convoy of bucket trucks rolling alongside.
If a hurricane hits, they are ready to respond to get the power back on.
Thousands of Georgia Power employees could be deployed, depending on the damage.
“We’re always talking about it. We always talk about what we’ll do for the next event, and we make sure everybody understands what they need to do and who needs to do it,” Perkins said.
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