Eversource Energy : Crews Arrive in Florida to Help Restore Power

Record workforce responding to more than 5 million outages from Irma

BERLIN, Conn. - Eversource crews are to begin work early tomorrow morning in Florida to help restore power to homes and businesses left in the dark after Hurricane Irma. One hundred employees from Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire arrived in Orlando today, where they received assignments to help repair widespread damage to the energy system caused by severe winds and coastal flooding.

'The damage caused by Hurricane Irma is extensive and a significant portion of the system may require a complete rebuild,' said Eversource Incident Commander Marc Geaumont. 'Hurricane winds brought trees down onto power lines and broke utility poles, and flooding makes work to complete repairs more challenging. We're proud to join crews from throughout the country for this restoration effort, and we are all committed to working throughout the days and nights in the coming weeks to help get the lights on for customers here in Florida.'

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Eversource sent crews from Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire to assist with Irma power restoration efforts. Early in the morning on Sept. 9, a convoy of 70 vehicles including the company's Mobile Command Center headed south. The convoy stopped in Virginia on Sept. 10 to service the bucket trucks and prepare for the work ahead, then drove through flash flood warnings, tornado warnings, and tropical storm warnings before arriving in Florida to check-in with the state's largest power company, Florida Power & Light Company (FPL).

As a longstanding member of the industry's Mutual Aid Network that works together to restore power following devastating storms and major events, Eversource sent as many crews to Florida as possible, while retaining the resources needed to maintain the system at home. In addition to sending crews to join FPL's workforce, Eversource's call center has been providing support to Tampa Electric Company by answering their customers' outage calls.

'Participating in the industry's mutual aid network is an important part of serving our customers when severe weather strikes New England,' Geaumont said. 'In the past when we needed help, crews from all over the East Coast, including Florida, have assisted with our restoration efforts. We're proud to provide aid to our utility partners that have readily supported us in previous storms.'

Eversource (NYSE: ES) transmits and delivers electricity to 1.2 million customers in 149 cities and towns and provides natural gas to 229,000 customers in 73 communities in Connecticut. Recognized as the top U.S. utility for its energy efficiency programs by the sustainability advocacy organization Ceres, Eversource harnesses the commitment of its approximately 8,000 employees across three states to build a single, united company around the mission of safely delivering reliable energy and superior customer service. For more information, please visit our website (www.eversource.com) and follow us on Twitter (@EversourceCT) and Facebook (facebook.com/EversourceCT).

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Tricia Modifica
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Mitch Gross
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