Dressed in blue jeans, brown boots and a blue baseball cap, John Tuggle drank a cup of coffee and smoked a cigarette as he waited for his yellow Pike Electric truck to warm up outside of Muncie's Signature Inn early Monday morning.
After waking up at 5 a.m., he knew he had a 16-hour shift ahead of him, and he was prepared for the worst.
Tuggle of Lebanon, Va., is one of hundreds of out-of-state electrical line mechanics who were called in by Indiana Michigan Power last week to help restore power to East Central Indiana after Wednesday's ice storm.
More than 1,800 mechanics in 550 crews are working in the area. The mechanics primarily come from Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky and Oklahoma --- a far cry from the 83 line mechanics in 20 crews who normally serve the Muncie-Marion-Winchester area -- Jim Riggle, community affairs manager for Indiana Michigan Power, said.
John Sampson, vice president for external affairs, said Indiana Michigan Power, which is a subsidiary of American Electric Power, cooperates with Pike Electric and other corporations and private electrical firms to cope with such emergencies.
"Because we knew the storm was coming before Wednesday, we actually mobilized a number of the crews to start traveling to the area," Sampson said.
As of Monday evening, nearly 28,000 customers were still out of power, 22,000 of them in Muncie. However, the electric company said it expected 90 percent of its customers to have power by Monday evening and all customers to have power by Wednesday.
Sampson said the company's solution center in Fort Wayne received several calls from the parents of Ball State University students last week and during the weekend regarding power in the residence halls and off-campus housing. Ball Memorial Hospital and Ball State, which regained power Saturday, were at the top of the list, he said.
"Basic educational needs depended on having this electricity back," Sampson said.
Tuggle, who began his job last week by fixing the main line on McGalliard Road, said he drives his truck with another mechanic and follows a "bird dog," an AEP employee who guides them to problem areas where they can reattach fallen lines to pole insulators made of glass. Tree service employees also go with them to cut off fallen limbs from electrical lines.
"Ice makes it difficult to put them back on," Tuggle said. "If it wasn't for the ice, it would be a lot easier."
After being in Muncie for the past five days, line mechanic Kevin Easter of Claudville, Va., said he felt pretty worn out, but he understood the importance of his job. He will leave for home by Wednesday at the latest.
"I'm glad to help," Easter said. "It makes me feel good when somebody gets their power on and they thank you."
Sampson said Indiana Michigan Power will keep as many out-of-state mechanics fully employed this week as possible. The volume of the work and severity of the damage drives the length of the restoration and repair time, he said.
"This is probably one of the most severe storm damages that we've experienced, so we know we're going to have a lot of follow up work besides providing service back to customers," Sampson said.
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