Alabama Power, Entergy DTE, Duke Energy win EEI awards
The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) honored several different utilities for their innovations and achievements in the electric industry.
Alabama Power won two awards – the Emergency Assistance Award and Emergency Recovery Award — for its outstanding power restoration efforts after Hurricane Michael hit the region in October 2018.
Hurricane Michael was a Category 5 hurricane with peak winds of 160 mph that caused 89,438 service outages in Alabama Power’s territory. Due to their tireless work, Alabama Power’s crews restored power to 100 percent of customers within four days after the storm. The company sent more than 1,400 lineworkers and 700 trucks to help restore service to customers, dedicating 124,423 man-hours to the recovery.
“Alabama Power’s extraordinary efforts were instrumental to restoring service for customers across Alabama, Georgia, and Florida quickly and safely,” EEI President Tom Kuhn said. “We are pleased to recognize the dedicated crews from Alabama Power for their work to restore service in hazardous conditions and to assist neighboring electric companies in their times of need.”
The Entergy Corporation also received EEI’s Emergency Assistance Award for its power restoration response after Hurricane Michael.
“This award shows the Entergy family remains ready to restore electric power wherever needed by our strong commitment to customers and by knowing and practicing our plans and processes,” Willie Wilson, Entergy’s system storm incident commander, said. “When storms impact our customers, we are thankful to other companies who assist us. In return, Entergy was pleased to answer the call to safely and quickly restore power for our neighbors in Florida and Georgia.”
DTE Energy also won EEI’s Emergency Assistance Award for its power restoration efforts after an ice storm hit western Michigan in February 2019. The ice storm included wind gusts of up to 45 mph, resulting in damage to the energy grid. DTE Energy sent more than 120 lineworkers and contractors to help restore service to customers over three days.
EEI’s Kuhn said the industry depends on electric companies helping other electric companies quickly respond during times of need, which is what DTE did.
“This mutual assistance effort was about neighbors helping neighbors,” Heather Rivard, DTE Energy senior vice president, Distribution Operations, said. “We’re all Michiganders and we’re always there for each other. Consumers has helped us many times in the past, and this was our opportunity to lend them a hand to help restore power after a brutal week of winter weather.”
Also, EEI honored Duke Energy with its Emergency Recovery Award with recovery efforts conducted after Winter Storm Diego hit the Carolinas in December 2018. Diego brought snow, sleet, and freezing rain through parts of North Carolina and portions of upstate South Carolina, resulting in more than 763,000 service outages in Duke Energy’s territory. Duke Energy’s crews restored service to 100 percent of customers within four days after the storm, dedicating more than 116,000 man-hours to the recovery.
EEI’s Kuhn cited the dedication and tireless work of Duke Energy’s crews during this emergency.
“Winter Storm Diego rolled through the Carolinas on the heels of Hurricane Florence and Tropical Storm Michael,” Harry Sideris, Duke Energy senior vice president and chief distribution officer, said. “The end of 2018 hit the Carolinas hard with severe weather and power outages, and we appreciate the patience from our customers as our crews battled Diego’s aftermath and the coordination with our government partners and other utilities who worked with us to restore power to our communities.”
