Florida Power & Light Company earns Edison Electric Institute award for hurricane restoration work
For power restoration work undertaken in the wake of Hurricane Idalia last year, Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) recently won an Emergency Response Award from the Edison Electric Institute (EEI).
The biannual award shines a spotlight on recovery and assistance efforts electric companies pursue in the wake of service disruptions. Contestants are nominated worldwide and chosen by a panel of judges.
“America’s electric companies are committed to serving their customers and communities and to restoring power safely and as quickly as possible following severe storms and other extreme weather events,” Dan Brouillette, EEI president and CEO, said. “I applaud Florida Power & Light’s commitment to restoring service under challenging conditions following Hurricane Idalia. I am honored to present FPL and its storm response team with this well-earned recovery award.”
Idalia reached category three at its height and carved a path through Florida in August 2023 defined by heavy winds, flooding and storm surge. Although nearly 200,000 people lost power, FPL brought to bear a restoration workforce of approximately 12,000 and completed restoration work within two days of the storm’s exit from Florida. Further, its smart grid technology was credited with avoiding nearly 70,000 outages.
“Hurricane Idalia had a devastating impact on many Floridians, and we dedicated ourselves to helping our customers get back to a sense of normalcy after the storm,” Armando Pimentel, FPL president and CEO, said. “I couldn’t be prouder of the commitment of our employees and all first responders. Their adaptability and initiative throughout that challenging restoration was remarkable and inspiring, and this award is a testament to that.”
For FPL, a company serving more than 12 million people, this was also the 22nd time it was honored by EEI for recovery and assistance efforts following natural disasters.
