He said the damage was much worse than that in the Oklahoma City area, where he lives.

"It seems that there was more widespread damage here, and I think that's because it's Green Country. There's much more lush vegetation here," Roth said. "What's noticeably different is the lack of ice. Central Okla homa still has a thin layer of ice on it."

Roth met with Taylor and three executives of American Electric Power-Public Service Company of Oklahoma -- CEO Stuart Solomon, Vice President of Distribution Preston Kissman and Vice President of External Affairs Bill McKamey. He then toured the company's command post at Expo Square and visited a few places around town that were hit hard by the ice storm.

Roth praised the efforts of the utility company.

"It's a very coordinated effort," he said. "I'm very impressed with the command center; it's a one-stop shop."

Trucks and utility workers from across the country continued to pour into Expo Square on Wednesday, waiting for their assignments. Kissman said AEP-PSO had 500 people in the field and had requested 2,000 to 2,500 more to help restore power.

"We've got people coming from Mississippi, Texas, most of the Gulf states," he told Roth. "The Southern states that haven't been affected have really come through."

Kissman told Roth that power poles in the Tulsa area hadn't sustained as much damage as first thought al though structural damage has been extensive. He said employees are working from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. to restore power.

"They work 16 hours on, then eight hours off. We also keep about 1,000 tree trimmers in the area, with about 800 of those in Tulsa," Kissman said. "But we've doubled that number because in order to get to most of the affected areas, they've got to cut the trees out of the way."

Taylor told Roth that the extent of the power outage has been devastating for most area residents but then asked for residents to have patience as they wait for their electricity to come back on.

"We're 96 hours into the power outage and people are getting anxious, and they are going to do things that we don't want them to do. We just want to help people be safe," Taylor said. "This isn't an easy process, trying to get power back to so many affected residents, but the process of trying to get everyone back on line is working. Hopefully it won't be too much longer before it does."

Kissman said heavily affected areas may not have electricity until the middle of next week.

Roth said the Corporation Commission asked Wednesday that utilities examine moving more power lines underground after power has been restored to the state. The problem, he said, is the cost of burying the lines.

"Let's take a close look to see if the benefits might be good enough, not just an end to all power outages," Roth said.

"There needs to be an exhaustive study done to determine if burying lines will indeed be a long-term benefit."

Jeff Billington 581-8369
jeff.billington@tulsaworld.com