JUNO BEACH, Fla. – Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) is sending transmission equipment and other critical resources to help Entergy Louisiana restore power after Hurricane Laura made landfall last week. In addition to the equipment, more than 1,300 FPL lineworkers and contractors have been working in Louisiana and Texas since Sunday to restore power to the states’ residents and businesses.
This week, nearly 180 semi-trailer trucks will be leaving Palm Beach County, which is the equivalent of about 30 trucks leaving each day. Four trucks are required to transport each transmission structure and other equipment that will be used to help rebuild one of the 500 kV transmission structures that were damaged in Louisiana. Transmission lines carry large amounts of high voltage energy over long distances and are essential to providing power to communities.
“Hurricane Laura cut a path of destruction that requires rebuilding parts of the energy grid in Louisiana, which is a long and arduous process, to help return communities to some sense of normalcy,” said FPL President and CEO Eric Silagy. “At FPL, we know all too well the challenges faced in restoring power. We have relied on the assistance of so many when Mother Nature impacts our customers during hurricane season. So, we can empathize with our fellow Americans when they need help and our team is more than ready to lend a hand.”
FPL’s restoration workforce joins approximately 29,000 workers from 29 states, the District of Columbia and Canada who responded to restore power. Due to the pandemic, crews have been following safety guidelines to keep everyone safe, including social distancing, increased sanitation measures and wearing masks where appropriate. Signs on trucks remind the public to honor the 6 feet social distancing requirements that help keep the crews safe while they work.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the men and women who are working to help get the lights back on after Hurricane Laura,” said FPL Senior Vice President for Power Delivery Manny Miranda. “They left their friends and family to travel more than 900 miles to help bring a sense of normalcy to communities hurting from this devastating hurricane. Our team is well-trained for the challenges they face, including hazardous working conditions and excessive heat. We know that this will be a difficult and lengthy restoration process for our partner utilities in Louisiana and Texas.”
Providing mutual assistance after natural disasters is a hallmark of the energy industry. In August, more than 600 FPL employees and contractors traveled to New Jersey to help restore power to nearly 3,000 homes and businesses affected by Hurricane Isaias. In 2018, FPL crews deployed four times to assist in power restoration efforts after a natural disaster, some working six months away from home. FPL crews helped restore power in the Bayamon region of Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria; in the Carolinas, Florida’s Panhandle and Georgia in some of the hardest hit areas impacted by Hurricanes Florence and Michael; and in Northern California to areas devastated by the Camp Fire.
Florida Power & Light Company
Florida Power & Light Company is the largest energy company in the United States as measured by retail electricity produced and sold, serving more than 5.1 million customer accounts or an estimated 10 million+ people across the state of Florida. FPL’s typical 1,000-kWh residential customer bill is approximately 30% lower than the latest national average and among the lowest in the U.S. FPL’s service reliability is better than 99.98%, and its highly fuel-efficient power plant fleet is one of the cleanest among all electric companies nationwide. The company was recognized in 2020 as one of the most trusted U.S. electric utilities by Escalent for the seventh consecutive year. A leading Florida employer with approximately 8,900 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 2020 list of “World’s Most Admired Companies.” NextEra Energy is also the parent company of Gulf Power Company, which serves approximately 470,000 customers in eight counties throughout northwest Florida, and NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, which, together with its affiliated entities, is the world’s largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun and a world leader in battery storage. For more information about NextEra Energy companies, visit these websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com, www.FPL.com, www.GulfPower.com, www.NextEraEnergyResources.com.