Hard experience gained from Hurricane Ike in 2008 had a lot to do with a relatively quick restoration of power here after a storm June 29, officials from Dayton Power & Light and Duke Energy said.

Ike caused power outages that stretched into two weeks for many of the estimated 2.6 million statewide who lost power – likely twice the number of Ohioans who lost power during the June 29 storm. But with Ike, the high winds blew for hours. DP&L estimated the June 29 storm took 90 minutes to blow through its 24-county coverage area.

For both DP&L and Duke Energy, June 29 began a week of all-hands-on-deck, around-the-clock work schedules and employees working with short breaks until the crisis subsided.

“Given what the rest of the country experienced, I feel like it was a real well-oiled machine to get the outages restored in the time we did,” said Sally Thelen, spokeswoman for Duke Energy.

“We did a lot of work after Ike,” said DP&L Vice President Bryce Nickel. “We learned a lot about getting crews in faster. I feel we did a real nice job, but there were people who were without power for five days.”

Friday, outages in Washington, D.C., were on track to stretch into a second week, with tens of thousands of residents without power. American Electric Power Co. had about 89,000 customers without power Friday, mostly in central and southwest Ohio. The company said storms in its service area surpassed damage caused by Ike, and the heat wave complicated repairs. It led to the hospitalization of three utility workers with heat-related illnesses.

This time around in the Dayton region, it took a week to restore power to 175,000 DP&L customers despite a second storm two days after the first that triggered 30,000 more outages. Duke restored power to 177,700 in a similar time frame — including an additional 14,000 that lost power Sunday - but acknowledged as did DP&L that Ike inflicted damage of a far greater magnitude.

In Springfield and Clark County, Ohio Edison said 57,000 customers lost power. Spokesman Mark Durbin said staff meteorologists determined that the June 29 and July 1 storms had potential to cause plenty of damage so the utility prepared.  

“The sheer magnitude of some of the damage — and the fact that we got hit with multiple weather events — is what extended the restoration process. We greatly appreciate our customers’ patience as the repairs were made safely,” Durbin said.

At Dorothy Lane Market in Washington Twp., Assistant Manager Scott Achs, 42, put in a 19-hour day when the storm hit, working at a frantic pace to save frozen food by transferring it from the store to five refrigerated semi-trailers in the parking lot. The experience with Ike helped, he added.

“We went into, shall we say, panic mode to salvage the product that we could,” he said. “It was a pretty major event, and we had practice due to Hurricane Ike.”

The latest storm was no weakling. Two-hundred DP&L poles went down, including four steel poles that snapped in Fairborn that carried lines to a substation. That alone took out power to thousands — the biggest single outage of the storm and a serious repair problem.

The June 29 storm is a rare event in the Midwest, a “super” derecho (pronounced: deh-REY-cho,) or land hurricane. It swept in from Fort Wayne, Ind., and left a 700-mile-wide path of damage on a 12-hour march to Washington, D.C., taking out power to large cities amid a triple-digit summer heat wave. Estimates are that something short of four million lost power.

DP&L and Duke said they took many key steps following the Hurricane Ike disaster to assure that the aftermath of the next major weather event would not be as prolonged or dangerous.

DP&L said it has greatly expanded a national network of utility workers to draw from, updated line maintenance so there are fewer tree falls in high winds, and raised its number of phone lines for customers from 400 to 550. It also has closer coordination with local communities and offers a graphic website update on power outages. Duke offers an online graphic map, too.

Duke Energy said it anticipated the June 29 storm’s impact early, and called for mutual aid from other utilities quickly. Detailed reports from the utility’s Indiana operations poured in before the storm hit Ohio, Thelen said.

“Duke Energy was able to know what conditions were headed our way and could prepare as a result. Not so much with Ike, which was a freak of nature and a storm of the century,” Thelen said.

DP&L has expanded its reach of mutual assistance agreements beyond the region and the Great Lakes Assistance Group. It joined the larger Southeastern Electric Exchange, a network that gives emergency access to 15 utilities and 4,000 linemen — more than double previous resources for assistance.

After joining the larger group, DP&L employees visited utilities in America’s hurricane belt like Progress Energy in North Carolina to get pointers on working widespread damage. The expanded capability had a test run Jan. 31, 2011, when an ice storm caused outages to 100,000. In fewer than 48 hours, DP&L added more than 700 line technicians to the restoration workforce, the utility said.

As the derecho moved on its way east, Duke Energy said it set up field staging areas in including one at the Butler County Fairgrounds and in Norwood at the old Showcase Cinemas. That made it more convenient for crews to work from remote locations and have supplies for repairs nearby. The utility drew on assistance from utilities in 10 states, and DP&L drew from nine.

“We also worked directly with local Emergency Management Agencies to prioritize the restoration process,” Thelen said. “We had representatives work with us on-site at many of the staging areas as well. This strong commitment to working side-by-side with EMA officials was a direct result of our experience in restoring power after Hurricane Ike.”

DP&L said that following Ike, it has focused on preparedness — coordinating with the emergency management agencies, counties, cities and villages.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.