RUTHERFORD COUNTY, TN - We are slowly learning more about the work done by MTE crews that went to North Carolina and East Tennessee to help communities uncover from the catastrophic loss of homes, businesses and people - all of which were the result of flooding caused by Hurricane Helene. Amy Byers with Middle Tennessee Electric said before fixing the actual electric lines could begin… But bringing the proper tools to do the needed work was not an easy task…

Between Asheville and Charlotte, North Carolina, MTE crews, who typically focus on areas such as Murfreesboro, Lebanon, and Franklin, TN, found themselves working in rural communities served by the Rutherford Electric Membership Corporation... Approximately 90% of the residents in that area were without power.

Meanwhile, the crews who traveled to Boone, NC, discovered that 75% of Blue Ridge Energy members were also without electricity… A little under 40 Middle Tennessee Electric crew members went to the areas impacted by Hurricane Helene and all of them have since returned. Perhaps changed after witnessing devastation that in some areas, was said to be greater than anything they had ever witnessed, and some of those who went were previously involved in efforts to restore power in communities hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.