A slight change of plans, for some Wisconsin utility crews. Ten crews from Wisconsin Public Service were slated to leave for Houston this morning, according to WPS spokesman Kerry Spees. "We got a call from American Electric Power in Ohio, saying that they needed helps as well," says Spees, who adds that more than 500,000 people are without power in that utility's service area.
Spees says WPS decided the crews would be of more use in Ohio, so the decision was made to send them there. Spees expects they'll be in place and ready to work by sometime Tuesday morning. "The fastest rout there is not a route we're going to be able to take," Spess says. "Because the Chicago area has been inundated with rain, and there is heavy flooding, we're going to have to go around." The crews, a total of 23 people from nine WPS offices, left from Wausau for Ohio this morning.