Florida Power and Light staff to return from Puerto Rico after three-month restoration effort

Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) announced Tuesday that more than 120 employees would be returning home after a three-month mutual assistance deployment to Puerto Rico following Hurricanes Maria and Irma.

“Words cannot describe the pride we at FPL have for our dedicated employees who volunteered to leave their families for weeks, and in some cases months, with one goal in mind – to get the lights back on for our neighbors in Puerto Rico,” FPL CEO Eric Silagy said.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott joined Silagy to thank the company’s employees after their flight arrived at Palm Beach International Airport.

“I was glad to welcome utility restoration workers home today from their work in restoring power in Puerto Rico,” Scott said. “During one of my four trips to the island since Maria made landfall, I led a delegation of Florida utility providers and national emergency experts to help Puerto Rico’s recovery. I’m proud of the work that we have done in Florida to help our neighbors in Puerto Rico recover.”

FPL began to transport vehicles and electric equipment to the island via barges in late December 2017. In early January, the company began rotating teams onto the island every 30 days with some lineworkers volunteering to stay for the entire 90-day deployment.

Before returning to Florida, restoration workers from FPL and other utilities helped restore service to 97 percent of Puerto Rican citizens in the Bayamon region. The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) will now assume complete responsibility for restoring power to remaining customers.