Staff Reports
Florida Power & Light is sending nearly 180 trucks to Louisiana to help restore the energy grid after parts of Louisiana’s Gulf coast suffered massive damage from Hurricane Laura.
All of the trucks are traveling more than 900 miles from Palm Beach County to help Entergy Louisiana repair its grid. The additional assistance grows FPL’s presence in the region to more than 1,300 mineworkers and contractors who have been working since Sunday to restore power to residents and businesses.
Four trucks will 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.”
In all, about 29,000 workers from 29 states and the District of Columbia and Canada are working on power restoration in Louisiana.
Crews are following strict safety guidelines including social distancing, increased sanitization and mask wearing to reduce the spread of COVID-19 while on the job. Signs are also on trucks reminding the public to maintain six-feet of separation to help keep workers safe.
“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.”
It is common for various energy companies to assist others during times of natural disaster that require a larger response than what is available with a single company.
In August, more than 600 FPL employees traveled to New Jersey to help restore power to nearly 3,000 homes and businesses affected by Hurricane Isaias. In 2018, the company deployed four times to aid in power restoration efforts, sometimes taking crews away from their homes for as much as six months.
FPL also sent crews to help restore power in Puerto Rico following devastation from Hurricane Maria and to Florida’s panhandle, the Carolinas and Georgia following Hurricane Florence and Michael.
They also sent crews to California to aid in efforts resulting from the Camp Fire.
