Oberlin ? Crews continue to work on power lines across northwest Kansas after the area was hit by ice and snow storms in late 2005 and 2006.

Allan Miller, general manager of Prairie Land Electric Cooperative in Norton, said C&H Power Line of Dewey, Okla., has a contract to rebuild at least 560 miles of line ruined in November 2005.

The company potentially will have another 900 miles to work on from the 2006 storm, if it’s awarded the contract.

“We’re working to restore the lines back to their original condition before the bad storm,” said James Moore, owner of C&H Power Line. “They took a tremendous hit.”

C&H Power Line already was working on the 2005 damage when the December storm hit, though work was delayed while crews waited for supplies to arrive. They’re back in the area to complete the 2005 restoration project, which covers Decatur, Cheyenne, Rawlins, Sheridan, Graham and Norton counties.

About 90 percent of the cost is being footed by FEMA with a $20 million grant. The work includes repairing sagging lines, replacing broken poles, adjusting clearance problems and getting the irrigation systems and stock-water well systems running. Some of the work is meant to limit future damage.

Miller said the FEMA grant for the 2006 storm damage would likely total between $35 million to $40 million to restore lines in Decatur, Graham, Sheridan, Norton, Phillips and Rooks counties.

He said he wants to check the possibility of having C&H Power Line finish it all, rather than put it out for bid. Because of the widespread storm damage, Miller said there aren’t enough contractors to go around.