(KYTX) - Millions of homes are expected to lose power during the storm so East Texas line workers are headed East to help.
There are 60 Oncor employees and at least 60 contracted tree trimmers from the East Texas region headed toward Baltimore, Maryland, where the companies have mutual assistance agreements. They'll get their assignments as soon as they get there Tuesday.
Destructive winds from Hurricane Sandy tearing down everything in their path - including power lines.
"You can't have enough people on your workforce to prepare for a storm like this," said Tyler Oncor Customer Operations Manager, Charles Hill.
That's why Oncor, an electric company that powers East Texas homes, is sending 120 workers to Baltimore.
"They left at first light this morning and they'll travel, and probably get there sometime late tomorrow," Hill says.
Starting Tuesday, they'll help restore power to a growing number of customers left in the dark. Hill says they're in for some pretty rough weather, including winds that could reach up to 90 miles-per-hour.
"We could also see some cold weather, depending on how much the cold front pushes the hurricane around. We could see some snow and ice," Hill said.
The good news is that hurricanes and severe storms are familiar territory for these Oncor crews.
"We go to the Gulf Coast on a regular basis, we've been to Oklahoma, we've been to Arkansas, all over."
And now they're traveling to a new region of the country, to help those who need it most.
Swepco also has crews on the East Coast. 69 Swepco employees and 40 contractors are already in Southwest Virginia. We're told they've been in a snowstorm, dealing with 50 to 60 mile an hour winds.
You can follow their journey through Sandy storm damage on Facebook, at www.facebook.com/swepco
