GRDA receives national commendation for Hurricane Ida help

The Grand River Dam Authority has received a national commendation from the American Public Power Association for their help restoring power in Louisiana after Hurricane Ida.

In late August, GRDA sent 20 employees to help Lafayette (Louisiana) Utilities System as well as the Terrebonne Parish Utilities Department, which suffered widespread outages because of the hurricane.

For about three weeks, GRDA powerline maintenance, vegetation management, mechanics and law enforcement personnel worked to help local utility crews repair the damaged electric systems.

“We are very fortunate to have the resources and expertise to provide mutual aid to our public power neighbors in their time of need,” said GRDA President/CEO Dan Sullivan. “Mutual aid is foundational to public power, and we know that if the roles were reversed, these neighbors would provide the same kind of aid to GRDA.”

GRDA participates in the American Public Power Association’s Mutual Aid Network, which coordinates with utilities and authorities during widespread power outages.

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