Utility crews who provided aid following Hurricane Michael are not returning home. On Oct. 16, the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council reported that power was restored to 2.6 million people, or about 95% of the customers affected.

Electric companies mobilized a team of more than 35,000 workers from 27 states and Canada to restore power safely and as quickly as possible, including company personnel, contractors, and mutual assistance workers.

As a result of Hurricane Michael, entire sections of the energy grid need to be rebuilt in some of the still-affected communities in Florida’s Panhandle region.

The Missouri Public Utility Alliance announced that municipal utility electric lineworkers from Missouri and Arkansas were returning home after a week of work. The team of 47 workers came from nine Missouri cities and one city in Arkansas arrived in Florida on Oct. 10, equipped with bucket trucks, digger trucks, and other work vehicles following a call for mutual aid issued by the Florida Municipal Electric Association.