JUNO BEACH, Fla., June 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Edison Electric
Institute (EEI) presented Florida
Power & Light Company (FPL) with the association's
special "2018 Emergency Assistance Award for Puerto Rico Power
Restoration" for its contributions to the unprecedented emergency
power restoration mission in Puerto
Rico following Hurricane Maria. The devastating Category 4
hurricane made landfall in Puerto
Rico on Sept. 20, 2017,
impacting all critical infrastructure, damaging at least 80 percent
of the island's energy grid, and leaving all island residents
without power.
![Edison Electric Institute (EEI) President Tom Kuhn (center) presents employees of Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) with a 2018 Emergency Assistance Award for Puerto Rico Power Restoration during EEI’s annual convention in San Diego, June 5, 2018. FPL’s team of more than 400 men and women worked for nearly 200 days, restoring power to approximately 30,000 homes in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Photo credit: EEI. Edison Electric Institute (EEI) President Tom Kuhn (center) presents employees of Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) with a 2018 Emergency Assistance Award for Puerto Rico Power Restoration during EEI’s annual convention in San Diego, June 5, 2018. FPL’s team of more than 400 men and women worked for nearly 200 days, restoring power to approximately 30,000 homes in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Photo credit: EEI.](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/702769/FPLEEIaward3.jpg)
"Words cannot describe the pride we at FPL have for our
dedicated employees who volunteered to leave their families for
weeks, and in some cases months, to get the lights back on for our
neighbors in Puerto Rico,"
said FPL President and CEO Eric Silagy. "What has stuck
with all of us is the warmth and graciousness of those in the
Commonwealth who were without electricity for so long. Despite
their own very real challenges, they welcomed us into their homes
from day one. Their resiliency and positive spirit fueled our
employees during long, strenuous work days, so much so that it
inspired our teams to often give back once their 16-hour workday
was complete. This mission was about more than simply restoring
electric service. This was about helping our fellow Americans in
their greatest time of need."
FPL's team of more than 400 men and women worked for nearly 200
days, restoring power to approximately 30,000 homes in the
aftermath of Hurricane Maria. FPL's support of the restoration
effort began even before the company completed its own restoration
to 4.4 million customers following the unprecedented Hurricane Irma
in September, quickly identifying a team of restoration
professionals who were prepared to deploy to Puerto Rico. The company coordinated the
delivery of power poles and other electric equipment to the island
and accompanied Florida Gov. Rick
Scott to the Commonwealth in November. Then, a 10-person
Incident Management Team began working on the island in December to
coordinate restoration efforts in Bayamon, one of seven regions on
the island. In January, the first of three waves of FPL
lineworkers, management and support staff joined the team to start
restoring service in the field. Some employees volunteered to
remain in Puerto Rico for three
straight months, working 16-hour days on a schedule of 30 days on,
one day off.
Electric companies from the mainland that provided mutual
assistance to the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA)
faced incredibly challenging and complex restoration work because
extensive portions of Puerto
Rico's energy grid are in rugged, mountainous terrain that
has little or no road access. Getting crews and equipment to
Puerto Rico also was much more
complicated and time-intensive than deploying mutual assistance on
the mainland, and it required extensive coordination among
responding companies.
Nearly 60 investor-owned electric companies and public power
utilities committed crews, equipment, and/or materials to the
emergency power restoration mission. Overall, approximately 3,000
industry lineworkers and support personnel were involved in the
restoration effort on the island.
"The power restoration effort in Puerto Rico was a massive and unprecedented
mission, and electric companies from across the country, including
FPL, responded to the call for help," said EEI President
Tom Kuhn. "The electric power
industry pulled together with one goal in mind, to restore power to
the people of Puerto Rico—it truly was one team, one mission. FPL
is deserving of this recognition for providing tremendous support
to PREPA and our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico."
On May 22, PREPA announced that
power had been restored to 99 percent of its customers across the
island who can receive electricity. This is a significant milestone
that was reached by PREPA and its restoration partners, including
FEMA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and its contractors, and
industry mutual assistance crews. The resources, equipment, and
people sent from the mainland, including lineworkers and support
personnel sent by FPL, greatly accelerated the restoration
process.
The company also was presented with EEI's "Emergency Assistance
Award" for its support of power restoration efforts after a
nor'easter and Tropical Storm Philippe impacted Maine in October
2017.
The Edison Electric Institute
EEI is the association
that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies. Our
members provide electricity for 220 million Americans, and operate
in all 50 states and the District of
Columbia. The electric power industry supports more than 7
million jobs in communities across the
United States. In addition to our U.S. members, EEI has more
than 60 international electric companies as International Members,
and hundreds of industry suppliers and related organizations as
Associate Members.
Florida Power & Light Company
Florida Power & Light Company is
the third-largest electric utility in the
United States, serving nearly 5 million customer accounts or
an estimated 10 million+ people across nearly half of the state of
Florida. FPL's typical 1,000-kWh residential customer bill is
approximately 30 percent lower than the latest national average and
among the lowest in the U.S. FPL's service reliability is better
than 99.98 percent, and its highly fuel-efficient power plant fleet
is one of the cleanest among all utilities nationwide. The company
was recognized in 2017 as one of the most trusted U.S. electric
utilities by Market Strategies International for the fourth
consecutive year. A leading Florida employer with approximately
8,700 employees, FPL is a subsidiary of Juno Beach, Florida-based NextEra Energy, Inc.
(NYSE: NEE), a clean energy company widely recognized for its
efforts in sustainability, ethics and diversity, and has been
ranked No. 1 in the electric and gas utilities industry in
Fortune's 2018 list of "World's Most Admired Companies." NextEra
Energy is also the parent company of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC,
which, together with its affiliated entities, is the world's
largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun. For
more information about NextEra Energy companies, visit these
websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com, www.FPL.com,
www.NextEraEnergyResources.com.
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