FEMA covers 75% of CU ice storm costs

The funding represents 75 percent of CU’s expenses after the storm, according to CU Director of Marketing Mark Viguet. About 75,000 of CU’s 105,000 customers experienced power outages in the wake of the disaster.

CU spent months repairing broken poles, damaged transformers, broken cross arms, damaged street poles, blown fuses and other infrastructure damages. Buffalo, N.Y.-based Osmose Utilities Services Inc.’s Atlanta division has been conducting pole-by-pole assessments of CU’s system since May to identify any remaining issues; Osmose’s report is due to CU by the end of September, Viguet said.

The FEMA funds will be sent to the state, which will administer the funds to CU after a review process.