GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Nearly 50 WPS and We Energies employees return to Wisconsin on Friday, after spending eight weeks restoring power in Puerto Rico.
The crews left in mid-January, a few months after Hurricane Maria devastated the island territory.
“The devistation was probably a little worse than we thought. When we were down in Florida (previously), we thought it was bad. But here, everything was gone.”
WPS Operations Supervisor Steve Van Campenhout says the locals expressed plenty of gratitude for their work.
“As soon as we put the power on in their places, the cheering and the clapping and the notes that they would bring out, it was phenomenal. The people were awesome.”
WPS Lead Lineman Kurt Felber says “day-by-day as you came in at night, by the amount of lights that were on, you could see that it was not just our effort but for all the linemen that were out there, the effort was showing.”
The crew members worked 16-hour days.
