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News Release > Edison Electric Institute Awards Entergy for 2020 Emergency Response
Edison Electric Institute Awards Entergy for 2020 Emergency Response
01/19/2021
Operating companies recognized for work in midst of global pandemic
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) recently awarded Entergy Corporation five Emergency Response Awards, including recovery awards for Hurricane Laura and severe thunderstorms last April, and assistance awards for hurricanes Sally, Isaias and Hanna. Entergy is the only electric company in the country to have been recognized each year by EEI since it began the awards program.
“In the midst of a global pandemic, the South suffered Easter storms and a subsequent hurricane season that disrupted lives and caused catastrophic damages like we haven’t seen in decades,” said Entergy Arkansas President and CEO Laura Landreaux. “We were proud to step up as part of the overall company response in a challenging year to quickly restore power to as many customers as safely possible when necessary.”
Presented to EEI member companies, Emergency Response Awards recognize recovery and assistance efforts of electric companies following service disruptions caused by extreme weather or other natural events. The winners were chosen by a panel of judges following an international nomination process, and the awards were presented during EEI’s virtual Winter Board and Chief Executives Meeting.
Severe thunderstorms Easter weekend caused widespread damage statewide and interrupted service to 128,000 customers. In late August the remnants of Hurricane Laura caused another 48,000 outages in Entergy Arkansas’ service territory. While attending to outages in Arkansas, crews were also mobilized to serve sister operating companies in Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana,all of which suffered damages of historic proportions.
“Entergy Arkansas linemen and crews are an elite group of skilled pros who are selfless and prepared to serve our customers in often harrowing situations,” Landreaux said, “and we’ll be ready the next time we’re called upon – in our service area or around the country.”
EEI President Tom Kuhn said, “Over the past year, many of our nation’s electric companies and their customers have endured historic storms and wildfires and other significant weather-related events. Working around the clock to restore power safely and quickly to customers and deploying mutual assistance crews to support impacted companies are hallmarks of the electric power industry. When disasters strike, impacted and neighboring electric companies are quick to assess damage and to respond and assist with restoration.
“I congratulate and applaud Entergy for demonstrating continued commitment to the customers and to the communities it serves," Kuhn said. "In the midst of a global pandemic and often in the most hazardous of conditions, Entergy and its frontline employees worked around-the-clock to restore service safely and quickly. Entergy is exceptionally deserving of this prestigious award.”
The awards recognize restoration efforts made by all the corporation’s operating companies, including Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy Texas and Entergy New Orleans.
“My thanks to our employees and mutual assistance partners for their commitment in response to an unprecedented year of storms during the pandemic,” said Willie Wilson, Entergy’s system storm incident commander. “I am grateful for those who stepped up to ensure we were able to restore power while remaining focused on the safety and health of our stakeholders, including our employees, customers and communities.”
ABOUT ENTERGY ARKANSAS
Entergy Arkansas provides electricity to approximately 715,000 customers in 63 counties. Entergy Arkansas is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR), an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including 8,000 megawatts of nuclear power. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.9 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of $11 billion and approximately 13,600 employees.
ABOUT EDISON ELECTRIC INSTITUTE
EEI is the association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies. Members provide electricity for more than 220 million Americans, and operate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. As a whole, the electric power industry supports more than 7 million jobs in communities across the United States. In addition to its U.S. members, EEI has more than 65 international electric companies, with operations in more than 90 countries, as International Members, and hundreds of industry suppliers and related organizations as Associate Members.
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