Electric Cities of Alabama (ECA), through its mutual aid efforts, coordinated the deployment of 18 public power utilities from throughout Alabama, Florida and Louisiana to south Alabama to assist in power restoration efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Sally.
Hurricane Sally made landfall as a Category 2 storm along Alabama’s gulf coast early Wednesday morning, Sept. 16, bringing with it dangerous storm surges, flooding and damaging winds. At peak, Alabama’s municipal utilities had more than 56,000 customer power outages.
Crews began rolling out Wednesday afternoon enroute to the City of Fairhope, Riviera Utilities in Foley, City of Evergreen, and the City of Robertsdale, said Jonathan Hand, ECA Executive Director. ECA serves as the mutual aid coordinator for 36 municipal electric utilities across the state of Alabama. ECA has an established mutual aid program through which member cities aid fellow member cities. Should the need arise, ECA coordinates all out-of-state requests and response to natural disasters.
“I am so thankful for the hardworking men and women who work for municipally owned electric utilities throughout our state,” said Hand. “When disaster hits, it’s reassuring to know there are public power utilities ready and willing to lend a helping hand.”
Public power utilities assisting in south Alabama include: Cullman Power Board; City of Troy Utilities; Huntsville Utilities; Municipal Utilities Board of Albertville; Dothan Utilities; Decatur Utilities; Guntersville Electric Board; Opelika Power Services; Utilities Board of Tuskegee; Russellville Electric Board; Scottsboro Electric Power Board; Tallahassee, FL; The Utilities Commission of New Smyrna Beach, FL; Jacksonville Electric Authority (JEA), FL; Gainesville, FL; Orlando Utilities Commission, FL; Lafayette Utilities System, LA; Florida Municipal Electric Association; and American Public Power Association.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Donna Key
Director of Communications and Marketing
Electric Cities of Alabama
(334) 954-3221
dkey@electricities.org