Tampa Electric Granted National Response Award for Hurricane Milton

Tampa Electric has won the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) Emergency Response Award for 2024, in recognition for the company's outstanding work to quickly restore power after Hurricane Milton.

EEI's Emergency Response Awards recognize recovery and assistance efforts of electric companies after extreme weather or other natural events. The winners were chosen by a panel of judges following an international nomination process. The awards were presented during EEI's winter board of directors and CEO meeting

"Throughout 2024, America's electric companies and their dedicated workforce answered the call to help restore power and hope to communities impacted by extreme weather events and natural disasters," said EEI interim President and CEO Pat Vincent-Collawn. "EEI commends Tampa Electric for its efforts to respond safely and efficiently to the aftermath of Hurricane Milton. TECO and its storm response team are extremely deserving of this well-earned honor."

Florida's 2024 hurricane season was the deadliest and most destructive in more than a century. Amidst an already active season, Hurricane Milton caused widespread outages and significant devastation from fierce winds, windblown debris, flooding and heavy rain. Tampa Electric brought in 6,000 line workers - the largest restoration crew in company history - from as far away as Texas, Minnesota and Canada. Electricity was restored in a week.

"This was an unprecedented storm that spurred an unprecedented response," said Archie Collins, president and chief executive officer of Tampa Electric. "Thousands of workers from across North America worked around the clock for a week to get all TECO customers restored quickly and safely. We are honored that the Edison Electric Institute recognizes our efforts."

Tampa Electric previously won EEI's Emergency Response Award in 2004 for responding to hurricanes Charley, Frances and Jeanne. The company also won EEI's Emergency Assistance Award in 2013 for its support of other utilities after Hurricane Sandy.

Tampa Electric, one of Florida's largest investor-owned electric utilities, serves nearly 860,000 customers in West Central Florida. Tampa Electric is a subsidiary of Emera Inc., a geographically diverse energy and services company headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

EEI is the association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies. Our members provide electricity for nearly 250 million Americans and operate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The electric power industry supports more than 7 million jobs in communities across the United States. In addition to our U.S. members, EEI has more than 70 international electric companies, with operations in more than 90 countries, as International Members, and hundreds of industry suppliers and related organizations as Associate Members.