The violent storm on June 16, 2023, with winds over 100 mph, was historic on many levels.
More than 250,000 customers were left without power after hurricane-like damage was left across SWEPCO's three-state service territory.
An army of 4,000 SWEPCO lineworkers and others rushed to the damaged areas to help safely restore power. That army also needed to be housed and fed.
The coordination needed to orchestrate the entire restoration process was described as "miraculous," at least according to one northwest Louisiana business owner.
SWEPCO President/COO Brett Mattison with Bob Arbuckle, owner of Arbuckle Electric
"This management team pulled off, basically, a miracle," exclaimed Bob Arbuckle, owner of longtime SWEPCO customer Arbuckle Electric.
Arbuckle reached out to SWEPCO with the hope of congratulating President and COO Brett Mattison for the hard work needed to successfully complete this historic restoration effort.
"It was an incredible task to move 4,000 resources in our area to get the power back on," explained Mattison who said the damage done on that day was unlike anything he had ever seen during his many decades at SWEPCO.
Arbuckle was recently invited to a SWEPCO management meeting in downtown Shreveport where he presented Mattison with a beautifully framed photo showcasing SWEPCO's base camp in Shreveport during storm restoration.
"All that I can say, with all the adjectives at my disposal, is 'Wow'," Arbuckle added about the work by Mattison, leadership, lineworkers, customer service and others during the days and weeks after the June storm.