Hydro One is sending more than 80 vehicles to Florida to assist with Hurricane Irma relief efforts.
Hurricane Irma severed power for about 4.5 million Florida Power and Light customers, making it one of the largest outages caused by a natural disaster in the United States’ history.
To assist with the recovery, Hydro One is sending 150 lines and forestry staff, as well as 25 supporting personnel, including mechanics. As well, crews will bring 52 bucket trucks to Florida, as well as 30 other vehicles and pieces of equipment to transport and replace hydro poles.
“We are proud of Hydro One’s long-standing history of responding to help other communities in need. Hydro One’s highly skilled employees are trained to work on both transmission and distribution systems as well as in storm and emergency situations making them incredibly valuable resources during a devastating hurricane, “said Greg Kiraly, chief operating officer of Hydro One. “Access to electricity can be a lifeline in a disaster and our crews are determined to help restore power to the families and businesses in Florida as quickly and safely as possible.”
Hydro One crews leave Sept. 11
Crews crossed the border into the United States in the Niagara Region, Thousand Islands, Pigeon River and Fort Frances on Sept. 11. They were scheduled to reach the affected areas by Sept. 13. Toronto Hydro also sent about 30 employees to help with restoring power in the Tampa area.
As part of the North Atlantic Mutual Assistance Group, Hydro One participated in National Response Event discussions about sending resources to areas hit by the hurricane. On Sept. 9, the Ontario utility company received an official request for help from Florida Power and Light.
Hydro One has reciprocal agreements in place with North American utilities to provide assistance during significant power outages. In these mutual assistance situations, all costs are covered by the utility receiving assistance.
“We want to thank our employees in advance for leaving their families to help our neighbours in need. The commitment of our employees to assist during times of crisis is something every Ontarian should be proud of,” Kiraly said.
