Rhode Island Energy receives industry award for emergency response

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (January 9, 2025) - The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) has awarded Rhode Island Energy (RIE) with the Emergency Response Award for the company's Mutual Aid efforts in the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton in late 2024. Presented to EEI member companies twice a year, the 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.

"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. "This commitment to mutual assistance is vital to our efforts to serve customers safely and reliably, and I applaud Rhode Island Energy for aiding neighboring electric companies in their times of need. Rhode Island Energy and its storm response team are extremely deserving of this well-earned assistance award."

Hurricane Helene landed across the Big Bend area of the Florida Gulf Coast the week of September 23, 2024, as a strong Category 4 storm and caused devastating rainfall-triggered flooding, particularly in western North Carolina, East Tennessee, and Southwestern Virginia. RIE sent 18 employees to Southwest Virginia to help Appalachian Power and American Electric Power restore electricity to customers affected by Helene. The work required specialized equipment due to the deep terrain and because many locations were not accessible by bucket trucks.

Nearly two weeks later, Hurricane Milton caused catastrophic destruction across Florida and much of the southeastern United States, causing outages for roughly 3.4 million customers. Once again, Rhode Island Energy answered the call and sent line workers, supervisors, and equipment to Florida to assist Tampa Energy with their restoration efforts. Crews worked tirelessly to replace poles, run new wires, clear trees, and patrol lines in order to get power restored.

"We are extremely proud of our crews and supervisors who stepped forward to respond and help customers in other states impacted by these catastrophic storms," said Greg Cornett, president of Rhode Island Energy. "Mutual Aid is the backbone of the utility industry. Our customers are our top priority, and once we realized the storm would not hit our service territory, we quickly made the decision to lend what resources we could to help."

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About Rhode Island Energy

Rhode Island Energy provides essential energy services to over 770,000 customers across Rhode Island through the delivery of electricity or natural gas. Our team of more than 1,300 employees is dedicated to helping Rhode Island customers and communities thrive, while supporting the transition to a cleaner energy future. Rhode Island Energy is part of the PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) family of companies addressing energy challenges head-on by building smarter, more resilient, and more dynamic power grids and advancing sustainable energy solutions. For more information visit www.RIEnergy.com and stay connected on X, Facebook, and Instagram.

About Edison Electric Institute

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.