JUNO BEACH, Fla., Nov. 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida Power
& Light Company (FPL) today announced that it mobilized and
transported 1,000 power line poles, previously located in
North Florida, to Port Canaveral
and then to Puerto Rico to assist
with the rebuilding of the electrical grid that was devastated by
Hurricane Maria.
In addition, senior leadership representing FPL accompanied
Florida Gov. Rick Scott's energy
company delegation to the U.S. territory on Nov. 3. Since that time, FPL leadership has
remained in Puerto Rico where it
has been providing technical expertise and guidance to the
restoration effort.
"As the destructive force of Hurricane Maria became apparent and
even prior to completing our own Hurricane Irma-related
restoration, FPL assembled a team of restoration professionals and
made it known that we stood at the ready to offer our support to
help rebuild Puerto Rico's
electrical infrastructure," said Eric
Silagy, president and CEO for FPL. "As we sought assistance
from other energy companies in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, we
provide like support to those whose energy grid has been damaged by
natural disasters and help bring life back to normal for our fellow
Americans. In fact, 300 of our employees and contractors returned
to Florida last week after helping restore power in Maine that was impacted by a Nor'easter last
month."
Leveraging decades of restoration experience, FPL leadership
representing emergency preparedness, construction and power
delivery operations, including Manny
Miranda, senior vice president of power delivery, is working
with their industry counterparts in Puerto Rico to help guide the rebuilding of
the island's energy grid.
The 1,000 power line poles were part of the company's storm
inventory that is stored near one of FPL's substations in
Flagler County. Thirty-three
trucks delivered the poles to Port Canaveral where they will be
loaded on a cargo ship scheduled to leave for Puerto Rico this week.
FPL continues to stand ready to provide whatever assistance is
necessary should the company receive the request.
Florida Power & Light
Company
Florida Power &
Light Company is the third-largest electric utility in the United States, serving nearly 5 million
customer accounts or an estimated 10 million people across nearly
half of the state of Florida. FPL's typical 1,000-kWh residential
customer bill is approximately 25 percent lower than the latest
national average and, in 2016, was the lowest in Florida among reporting utilities for the
seventh year in a row. FPL's service reliability is better than
99.98 percent, and its highly fuel-efficient power plant fleet is
one of the cleanest among all utilities nationwide. The company
received the top ranking in the southern U.S. among large electric
providers, according to the J.D. Power 2016 Electric Utility
Residential Customer Satisfaction StudySM, and was
recognized in 2017 as one of the most trusted U.S. electric
utilities by Market Strategies International. A leading Florida
employer with approximately 8,900 employees, FPL is a subsidiary of
Juno Beach, Florida-based NextEra
Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE), a clean energy company widely recognized
for its efforts in sustainability, ethics and diversity, and has
been ranked No. 1 in the electric and gas utilities industry in
Fortune's 2017 list of "World's Most Admired Companies." NextEra
Energy is also the parent company of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC,
which, together with its affiliated entities, is the world's
largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun. For
more information about NextEra Energy companies, visit these
websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com, www.FPL.com,
www.NextEraEnergyResources.com.
Editor's Note: B-roll of poles being loaded at
Flagler County substation:
https://fpl.sharefile.com/d-s9d91d29ad5b4773a
View original content with
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/florida-power--light-company-sending-power-line-poles-to-aid-puerto-rico-300555096.html
SOURCE Florida Power & Light
Company