Mutual Assistance Transitioning from Helene to Milton

October 10, 2024

As Hurricane Milton bears down on the west coast of Florida, we are sending more than 580 line workers and support personnel to assist Florida Power & Light (FPL) and Duke Energy with anticipated power restoration efforts following the storm. Many of the crews previously involved in restoring power after Hurricane Helene in the Carolinas and Georgia will be transitioning to Florida in the upcoming days. A new wave of support personnel also began departing from FirstEnergy’s service area Wednesday morning, and all are anticipated to arrive in Florida on Friday after the storm passes.

Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast late Wednesday night, with devastating impacts from storm surge, flooding rain, tornadoes and damaging winds forecast across many parts of west-central Florida.

“FirstEnergy employees are answering the call to help rebuild communities expected to be impacted by Hurricane Milton,” said John Huber, Director, Emergency Preparedness. “These dedicated crews leave their own families for weeks at a time to support large-scale power restoration efforts, where their expertise shines in aiding communities to rebuild their power grids after severe weather events. Although Hurricane Milton is not projected to impact any FirstEnergy service territories, we have thoroughly evaluated the conditions and have the necessary personnel in place to support consistent operations for our local customers.”

Helene restoration continues

Hurricane Helene made landfall on Sept. 25 with 140 mph winds and a tremendous storm surge, making it the strongest hurricane on record to hit the Big Bend region of Florida. As it moved inland, the Category 4 storm knocked out power to more than 6 million customers and decimated many communities in Georgia and the Carolinas with up to 30 inches of rain and historic flooding.

Mutual Assistance – Behind the Scenes

Watch a video of Regional Operations Supervisor Frank Roth explaining mutual aid work with photos from our efforts to restore power following Hurricane Helene.

Nearly 430 FirstEnergy line workers and support personnel have collectively supported Duke Carolinas in North and South Carolina, Georgia Power in Georgia and Appalachian Power and American Electric Power in Virginia in the aftermath of Helene. Approximately 100 of the line workers and personnel who assisted in the Hurricane Helene effort will relocate to Florida, while the others will be released to return home in the next few days.

All 10 of FirstEnergy’s operating companies are part of the mutual assistance effort, which includes crews from The Illuminating Company (CEI), Ohio Edison, Toledo Edison, Penn Power, Penelec, West Penn Power, Met-Ed, Mon Power, Potomac Edison and JCP&L. Support personnel from FirstEnergy’s corporate offices also are included in the company’s contingent.

Mutual Assistance Efforts Continue
Oct. 07, 2024

An additional 250 FirstEnergy employees were dispatched last week to assist with restoration efforts following the widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Helene. This adds to the 67 employees who arrived in North Carolina on Sept. 25, and the 112 employees who arrived in Georgia on Sept. 28, bringing the total number of employees participating in our mutual assistance effort to nearly 430.

“As we’ve seen in images broadcast on TV and shared through the internet, Hurricane Helene caused extensive damage to a large swath of the electric grid stretching from Florida all the way up to West Virginia,” said Stephanie Morman, Manager, Work Management Systems. Stephanie is serving as the Emergency Outage Coordinator Logistics Branch Director for this event, which oversees the mobilization of crews and equipment and supports our traveling leadership team. “In some areas, our crews are essentially working to reconstruct the electric grid from the ground up, due to the severe flooding and debris that washed away utility poles and destroyed other pieces of electrical infrastructure.”

The FirstEnergy contingent includes line workers, transmission crews, fleet mechanics, hazard responders, damage assessors and corporate support personnel. The employees are assigned as follows:

182 employees are supporting Duke Carolinas and are currently stationed in North Carolina.
145 employees are supporting Georgia Power and are currently working in Georgia.
101 employees are supporting Appalachian Power and American Electric Power (AEP) and are currently stationed in Virginia.

Cleaning Up After the Storm

Edison Electric Institute (EEI) reported that more than 50,000 workers from 41 states, the District of Columbia and Canada will continue working around the clock to restore power safely and as quickly as possible to customers and communities impacted by Hurricane Helene.

In total, Helene knocked out power to nearly 6 million customers in 10 states, making this the largest and most complex restoration effort in U.S. history.

“Our crews are working in challenging conditions as much of the infrastructure in the states they have been assigned to has been heavily damaged or destroyed,” continued Stephanie. “Communicating with the crews has also been difficult, but they are performing well in the face of adversity, and most important, completing their jobs safely. We appreciate their efforts and are proud of the way they are representing our company.”

Our work crews are expected to help with restoration activities for a period of two weeks, at which time FirstEnergy will review the situation with the utilities who requested assistance. If necessary, additional employees will be sent to relieve the employees who were a part of the original mutual assistance contingent.

Crews Head South to Assist with Hurricane Restoration Efforts
Sept. 26, 2024

Ready to Lend a Hand

FirstEnergy is a member of multiple electric utility mutual-assistance groups that work cooperatively to restore service to customers when a natural disaster causes large-scale power outages. Mutual assistance allows utilities to pool their resources to help restore power to customers faster. FirstEnergy and its employees have been honored numerous times by the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) with its “Emergency Assistance Award” for the mutual assistance the company has provided during winter and summer storms.

Approximately 200 FirstEnergy line workers and other support personnel are being mobilized to help Duke Energy Carolinas and Georgia Power with expected restoration efforts following Hurricane Helene. The employees will be deployed to the most damaged areas when it’s safe to do so after the storm moves through.

The first group of employees arrived in North Carolina Wednesday and will report to their assigned staging areas Thursday afternoon – Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord and the WNC Agricultural Center in Fletcher. A second contingent is preparing to head south soon and will report to a staging area in Atlanta, Ga., Saturday morning.

“FirstEnergy employees are committed to supporting the anticipated large-scale power restoration efforts along the U.S. southeast coast,” said Wade Smith, President, FirstEnergy Utilities. “Aiding communities in rebuilding their power grids after severe weather events is where their expertise shines. Although Hurricane Helene is not projected to significantly impact any FirstEnergy service territories, we have thoroughly evaluated the conditions and have the necessary personnel in place to support consistent operations for our customers.”

Hurricane Helene is expected to make landfall Thursday evening, bringing extreme winds, storm surge and flash flooding along the northern Gulf Coast of Florida. Millions of customers could be impacted by this storm, with weather advisories stretching as far north as southern Indiana.

Employees from the following operating companies are part of this mutual assistant effort: Penn Power, Penelec, West Penn Power, Met-Ed, Mon Power, Potomac Edison and JCP&L. FirstEnergy meteorologists are keeping a watchful eye on Hurricane Helene so our workforce can be ready to respond quickly should the storm impact customers in any parts of our six-state service territory. Even without a direct hit, remnants of the hurricane could have secondary impacts, such as heavy rain, high winds and severe flooding.