Investor-owned electric companies to send 1,500 additional restoration workers to Puerto Rico

The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) announced Tuesday that several of its member investor-owned electric companies will deploy approximately 1,500 additional restoration workers and support personnel to Puerto Rico in early January.

These crews will work under the direction of the seven incident management teams (IMTs) that arrived in Puerto Rico on Dec. 10 to support the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s (PREPA’s) regional directors.

The IMTs are working with PREPA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to conduct a full damage assessment of Puerto Rico’s energy grid and create an updated restoration plan.

With the additional works, the power restoration workers in Puerto Rico will number approximately 5,500 including PREPA’s own crews.

“Providing support to fellow electric companies in need is a hallmark of our industry, and I am very proud of our unique mutual assistance program,” EEI President Tom Kuhn said. “The incident management teams on the island already have enhanced PREPA’s organizational structure and management and logistics capabilities so that PREPA is ready to put these additional line workers and support personnel to work as soon as they arrive. These new crews will help to accelerate the restoration mission and to restore power safely and as quickly as possible for the people of Puerto Rico.”