AKRON,
Ohio, Aug. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As
part of its long-standing tradition of assisting other electric
companies during large-scale power outages, FirstEnergy Corp.
(NYSE: FE) utilities have sent approximately 500 line workers,
forestry crews, support personnel and internal contractors to
Louisiana to help Entergy with
power restoration efforts following Hurricane Ida. Crews began
leaving Sunday morning and expect to arrive in Louisiana throughout the day
tomorrow.
Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana Sunday afternoon, bringing extreme
winds, storm surge and flash flooding along the northeast Gulf
Coast. More than a million customers are currently without power in
Louisiana, and more than 100,000
have lost power in Mississippi.
Personnel will be deployed to the most damaged areas when it's safe
to do so.
All 10 of FirstEnergy's utilities are part of the mutual
assistance effort, which includes crews from The Illuminating
Company, Ohio Edison and Toledo Edison in Ohio; Penn Power, Penelec, West Penn Power and
Met-Ed in Pennsylvania; Mon Power
in West Virginia; Potomac Edison
in West Virginia and Maryland; and Jersey Central Power & Light
(JCP&L) in New Jersey. Support
personnel from FirstEnergy's corporate offices also are included in
the company's contingent.
"Many of our linemen have been to Louisiana in the past to help following other
hurricanes, and they are committed to assisting what is likely to
be a massive power restoration effort in challenging working
conditions," said John
Skory, vice president of utility operations for FirstEnergy.
"While it's not expected that Hurricane Ida will have a significant
impact on our FirstEnergy service territories, we have carefully
assessed conditions and are confident we have the personnel in
place to maintain reliable operations for our customers at
home."
FirstEnergy is a member of multiple electric utility
mutual-assistance groups that work cooperatively to restore service
to customers when a natural disaster causes large-scale power
outages. Mutual assistance allows utilities to pool their resources
to help restore power to customers faster. FirstEnergy and its
employees have been honored numerous times by the Edison Electric
Institute (EEI) with its "Emergency Assistance Award" for the
mutual assistance the company has provided during winter and summer
storms.
FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability
and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies
form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems,
serving customers in Ohio,
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West
Virginia, Maryland and
New York. The company's
transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of
transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic
regions. Follow FirstEnergy online at
www.firstenergycorp.com. Follow FirstEnergy on Twitter:
@FirstEnergyCorp.
Editor's Note: Photos of FirstEnergy crews
preparing and leaving to assist with power restoration following
Hurricane Ida are available for download on
Flickr , and video footage is available on the
company's YouTube
channel.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/firstenergy-utility-crews-mobilize-to-assist-hurricane-ida-power-restoration-efforts-in-louisiana-301365377.html
SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.