SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Crews from National Grid (NYSE: NGG) will be heading to Florida to help in preparation for Hurricane Milton, which is expected to make landfall on Wednesday night and into Thursday morning.
Since Sept. 28, about 160 National Grid employees from upstate New York have been supporting restoration efforts after Hurricane Helene caused extensive damage in West Virginia, Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida. With that work wrapping up, all crews are heading to Florida to support Duke Energy, National Grid said in its Tuesday announcement.
“The anticipated impact of Hurricane Milton will likely require significant mutual aid. National Grid crews are answering that call. Our employees know the devastation large storms bring to communities and we appreciate our team’s dedication as they continue to support areas of the country seeing multiple storms in these past few weeks,” Sally Librera, president of National Grid New York, said. “Assisting peer energy delivery companies during a time of need is an important component of how the utility industry shows up for customers and their communities.”
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In addition, the company’s New York team will be joined in Florida by 60 National Grid electric operation colleagues from Massachusetts who will be assisting Tampa Electric in storm preparation and response.
In its announcement, National Grid went on to say that the complexity of power restoration after a catastrophic storm requires “significant logistical expertise,” along with skilled line workers and specialized equipment, which is why utilities rely on each other for aid.
National Grid typically sends crews to assist other utilities following severe storms as part of a mutual-assistance program. Similarly, other utilities from across the country and Canada respond to assistance requests from National Grid following severely damaging storms.
Hurricane Milton is expected to hit the west coast of Florida late on Wednesday night or in the early hours of Thursday morning — bringing strong winds and heavy rain to a region that has already seen heavy rain from the impact of Hurricane Helene two weeks ago, National Grid said.
