Crews leave for second restoration effort in two weeks

Today, 58 crew members left San Antonio and headed to Jacksonville, Florida, to help Jacksonville Electric Authority (JEA) with power restoration efforts. The crews will cross the country to join other utilities in a colossal effort to bring some normalcy to those affected by Hurricane Irma.

Currently, there are more than 100,000 customers without power in Jacksonville.

Our crew includes 38 overhead construction personnel, 6 utility workers and 8 fleet support in 28 vehicles. The team plans to arrive to a staging area in Jacksonville tomorrow where they will receive instructions regarding their assignment.

“Our response exemplifies our commitment to people and now extends to restoring a community” said Paula Gold-Williams, CPS Energy President & CEO. “In the spirit of helping our neighbors, we are proud to have been asked to support the restoration efforts. It’s great when others recognize our employees’ valuable skills and strong work ethic in restoring power safely, just as they do for the people of Greater San Antonio every day.”

Once power is restored in Jacksonville, our crews may be called upon by the American Public Power Association to assist in other locations.

Last Saturday, a team of 53 returned from the Texas coast — Victoria and Bloomington — after 10 days helping those communities restore power.

This is the second time in less than a year that our Company received a request to help in Florida. Last October, 54 of our team members helped restore power to approximately 150,000 Jacksonville customers following Hurricane Matthew.