Progress Energy Florida Crews Aid Storm-Stricken Areas

Progress Energy Florida crews deployed to North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Irene are on their way back home this morning.  Crews have worked 16-hour days helping restore power to more 280,000 customers in the company’s sister utility’s service territory.

Before dawn on Saturday, Aug. 27, Progress Energy Florida sent 250 line and service personnel from across its 35-county territory to assist the residents of North Carolina impacted by Hurricane Irene. Crews worked to restore power for the last week in Wilmington, Whiteville, Goldsboro, Warsaw, Mt. Olive, Vanceboro, New Bern, Grantsboro, Kenansville, Chocowinity, and many other towns along the North Carolina coast.

The crews will travel back to Florida in two groups. One group will rest overnight in Savannah, Ga. and the other in Brunswick. They are expected to be back at their Florida bases of operation by Noon on Saturday.

Progress Energy Florida is a member of the Southeastern Electric Exchange (SEE), a group of investor-owned electric utility companies in the region that support each other, as needed, following major storms. Progress Energy has sent crews to storm-damaged areas many times, including large-scale deployment to repair damage from hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, in support of a devastating ice storm in Oklahoma in December 2007, following Hurricane Ike’s impact to Texas in 2008, and, most recently, to Alabama following tornadoes in April.

Progress Energy and its customers also benefited from the company’s SEE membership after major storms. Crews from numerous other southeastern utilities came to Florida to assist after several severe storms, including the major hurricanes that hit Florida in 2004 and most recently after severe storms knocked out power to nearly 400,000 customers at the end of March.

When Progress Energy Florida crews support other utilities’ restoration efforts they are paid by the utility requesting the service. Progress Energy customers in Florida will not bear any of the cost of the assistance provided to those customer’s hit by Hurricane Irene.

Progress Energy is a leader in storm response and restoration.  The company’s commitment to excellence in storm response has earned the utility the Emergency Response Award from the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) five times in the program's 11-year history. Progress Energy also won the EEI Emergency Assistance Award for its role in aiding utilities and citizens in Texas and Ohio following Hurricane Ike in 2008, and in the Gulf Coast region after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

For more information on Progress Energy’s storm response efforts, visit www.progress-energy.com/storms.