More
than 300 Florida Power & Light Company workers are helping
provide emergency restoration assistance to states severely impacted
by violent storms that recently hit the Midwest and mid-Atlantic
region.
Juno
Beach, FL (July 4, 2012) -- More than 300 Florida
Power & Light Company workers are helping
provide emergency restoration assistance to states severely impacted
by violent storms that recently hit the Midwest and mid-Atlantic
region. One team traveled from West Palm Beach to Maryland to help
Pepco, a Washington D.C. utility, with its restoration efforts.
“Our
travel team moved quickly and arrived on site without incident,”
said FPL deputy incident commander T.L. Winder. “Once we got
settled at the expansive staging site, our crews were given a safety
briefing by Pepco and set out to evaluate the damage and start
helping with the restoration.”
FPL’s
response is part of the mutual assistance network in which utilities
around the country provide assistance following major natural
disasters. FPL crews and equipment were dispatched to Ohio, Maryland
and Virginia, to aid in their restoration efforts after a powerful
line of thunderstorms, with gusts between 60 and 90 mph, caused
significant destruction that left millions of people without power.
Before deploying crews, FPL works to ensure that its customers are
taken care of and resources are available should any outages affect
our service territory.
For
FPL Incident Commander Jim Bush, he'd seen this devastation before
when called to help with restoration efforts following Hurricane Rita
in Texas. “This is very similar to hurricane-type damage. There’s
extensive destruction with lots of trees down among the poles and
lines,” he explained. “We're working on the feeder backbone
first, and then focus on getting the power back on in the
neighborhoods.”
The
FPL crews are working 16-hour days, through the July Fourth holiday,
focused on getting the job done. Bush, an Army veteran, says he can't
think of a better way to celebrate the Fourth than helping others in
their time of need.
“The
customers we talk to are excited to see us out working on restoring
the power and are glad there’s literally a light at the end of the
tunnel,” said Bush.
The
hilly terrain of Maryland is presenting some challenges for the
Florida-based crew. “We had one team working on a 50-foot pole on
the side of a steep hill that was engulfed in vegetation,” said
Winder. “They're not accustomed to the elevation changes they have
here, but the crew succeeded in getting the job done right and doing
it safely.”
“When
called into action, we're eager to assist, after all, the situation
could have easily been reversed with FPL needing the help after a
major storm,” said Bush. “It's a great team effort and we're glad
we could lend a hand.”
For
photos of the restoration effort visit:
http://www.fpl.com/newsroom
Media
Contact:
FPL
Media Line
Florida
Power & Light Company
700
Universe Blvd.
Juno
Beach, FL 33408
305-552-3888
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