Linemen from SEMO Electric Cooperative will join linemen from other Missouri electric cooperatives to assist Beauregard Electric Cooperative, based in DeRidder, Louisiana, in recovering from Hurricane Laura. The cooperative is 100% down with a tremendous amount of devastation. Team SEMO helped load equipment, packed water and necessities, conducted fleet maintenance, and completed travel documents before SEMO Electric's linemen left at 5 a.m. from Sikeston to DeRidder, which is 48 miles north of Lake Charles, La., and 612 miles southwest of Sikeston, Mo. Linemen will stay in a tent city designed to protect them from COVID-19. Special air filters capable of removing 99.4% of the virus were installed on the HVAC equipment and beds are spread out farther than would normally be done. Cooperation among cooperatives is one of the principles that guide electric cooperatives.
