JUNO BEACH, Fla., Oct. 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) today announced that it is deploying more than 500 employees and contractors to the Baltimore metropolitan area in support of power restoration activity anticipated in the wake of Hurricane Joaquin. FPL crews will assist Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE) and other utilities with their respective restoration efforts.
"FPL is pleased to step up and help our partner utilities in their time of need, just as they often provide assistance to our company when FPL customers are impacted by a hurricane, tropical storm or other natural disaster," said Eric Silagy, president and CEO of FPL. "Regardless of the time of year, FPL is always on call to support our colleagues at other utilities."
The FPL workforce, including 140 FPL lineworkers and support staff and 400 contractors from across Florida, will begin its more than 1,000-mile journey Friday morning. In addition to their support of BGE, FPL crews will lend assistance to Pepco Holdings, Inc. (PHI) in the Washington, D.C. area and Dominion Power in Virginia. FPL crews will remain on the job for as long as their assistance is needed.
In the past, FPL has provided assistance to areas impacted by major weather events, including the deployment of approximately 1,000 FPL workers to the Northeast in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
Florida Power & Light Company
Florida Power & Light Company is the third-largest electric utility in the United States, serving approximately 4.8 million customer accounts 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, in 2014, was the lowest in Florida among reporting utilities for the fifth year in a row. 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 2015 as one of the most trusted U.S. electric utilities by Market Strategies International. A leading Florida employer with approximately 8,700 employees, FPL is a subsidiary of Juno Beach, Fla.-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE), a clean energy company widely recognized for its efforts in sustainability, ethics and diversity, including being ranked in the top 10 worldwide for innovativeness and community responsibility as part of Fortune's 2015 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, visit these websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com, www.FPL.com, www.NextEraEnergyResources.com.
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NOTE TO EDITORS: FPL will provide photo opportunities early Friday morning as the crews are leaving for the Baltimore metropolitan area as well as Washington, D.C. and Virginia.
SOURCE Florida Power & Light Company