Many crews expected to transition from Helene aid in Carolinas and Georgia

AKRON, Ohio, Oct. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- As Hurricane Milton bears down on the west coast of Florida, FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) electric companies are sending more than 580 line workers and support personnel to assist Florida Power & Light 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 this 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.

View or download a video of a FirstEnergy line worker explaining mutual aid work with footage from their efforts to restore power following Hurricane Helene.

FirstEnergy electric companies in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and West Virginia are part of the mutual assistance effort, which includes crews from Ohio Edison, Toledo Edison and The Illuminating Company in Ohio; Penn Power, Penelec, West Penn Power and Met-Ed in Pennsylvania; Mon Power in West Virginia; Potomac Edison in West Virginia and Maryland; and Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) in New Jersey.

John Huber, Director of Emergency Preparedness at FirstEnergy: "FirstEnergy employees are answering the call to help rebuild communities expected to be impacted by Hurricane Milton. 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."

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 Hurricane Helene. 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.

Nearly 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.

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 more than a dozen 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.

FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy online at firstenergycorp.com. Follow FirstEnergy on X: @FirstEnergyCorp.

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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.