Viewpoint: NorthWestern dedicated to full power restoration
Brian Bird
At sunrise Saturday, our expanded fleet of line crews and support personnel prepared to begin the third full day of repair work after devastation caused July 24 when an extreme storm hit Missoula and the surrounding area.
Thousands of our customers woke up again without power.
We are humbled and appreciate the profound patience and support you are extending to our crews and our support staff while tolerating this event. Your graciousness is overwhelming. Thank you.
NorthWestern Energy prepares all year, around the clock, so that our system delivers reliable energy service to you. Our service is critical to almost every aspect of life.
The extent of this storm damage is exceptionally extensive.
Restoration and repairs will continue until all our customers have power again in the Missoula area.
More than 65 percent of our customers affected by outages after the Missoula storm were back in service Saturday morning. Good progress is underway toward 100 percent.
Our work is tremendously enhanced by the support we have received from first responders, emergency and disaster personnel, community service professionals and our customers. Our crews can work safely and more efficiently because of your actions, cooperation and assistance.
The punishing storm that hit the Missoula area was swift and fierce. Our crews responded immediately. Additional personnel, equipment and supplies were dispatched to Missoula from across the state. I am grateful for their dedication and experienced expertise as they efficiently and safely execute the restoration work.
Again, my sincere thanks to our employees, our customers and the entire Missoula area community as we get through this together.
Brian Bird is president and CEO of NorthWestern Energy