MHI was quickly called into action in the wake of hurricane damages in Jamaica. Hurricane Beryl destroyed a significant amount of the isand country's infrastructure. 

The disaster recovery efforts in Jamaice led to the first official MHIUS contract signing since the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board approved the removal of the MHIUS stop sell.

"A number of MHI folks worked over the August holiday weekend to finalize the contract and secure all of the equipment needed for the project. A big shoutout to them for making this happen in such a short time frame," said Shawna Pachal (Senior Managing Director at MHI).

The contract had MHI's Utility Services business unit (MHIUS) quickly mobilizing. 

"We had to work quickly, but we were able to assemble eight of our retired Power Line Technicians, most of them were in the plus-60 crowd, and give them the opportunity to go," added Wes Mueller (Managing Direcgtor, MHIUS). 

Jamaica Public Service initially wanted to have linework completed by August 12 - six days after the MHI contract was inked. While deployment took slightly longer, the MHI-dispatched PLT team were able to get to work in a relatively short timeframe. 

Among the crew of PLT's who made the journey were Larry Pruse, James Plohman, Trevor Smith, Bill Arnason, Tom Scheer, and Jeff Bencharski. 

"Our PLTs worked with crews from Jamaica Public Service and augmented their ability to rebuild some of their distribution network," Wes said. "It was all very hands on. Our guys had to get used to the climate in a hurry, as it is very hot and humid down there at that time of year."

Wes said he was pleased they were able to amass an eight-person crew for the contract. 

Another factor that contributed to the quick deployment was MHI's history with Jamaica Public Service. 

"We had been working together on a collaborative agreement several years ago, as they have had other weather incidents in the past that they asked for assistance on," Wes said. "And if you go quite a ways back to the 80s or 90s, there were times where Manitoba Hydro worked with the Candian International Development Agency to help with some restoration efforts in the past. So there is a bit of a long-term link there, which helps when you have a short-notice request that needs a quick turnaround. I wouldn't say this happens all the time, but it does happen on occasion."