Albany Herald

ALBANY, Ga. — Edison Electric Institute (EEI) has honored Georgia Power with both of the association’s longstanding Emergency Response Awards — the Recovery Award and the Assistance Award.

Albany area employees recently attended a luncheon held in their honor to thank them for the hard work and dedication they put forth to achieve this award.

The 2012 Emergency Recovery Award recognizes the company’s efforts to restore power to its customers following fierce summer storms in Georgia. The 2012 Emergency Assistance Award honors efforts to help other electric utilities following the numerous summer storms, Hurricane Isaac in August and “Superstorm Sandy” in the fall.

“Georgia Power was faced with a major restoration effort following last summer’s extended period of severe weather,” EEI President Tom Kuhn said. “It takes strong commitment, advanced planning and great execution. Georgia Power responded with all three. They’re a great example for the nation’s electric power industry. I congratulate them.”

“This award is an honor for Georgia Power and is well deserved by our employees,” Georgia Power Area Manager Jay Smith said. “Our Albany employees have spent countless hours away from their families in severe conditions to restore power to our customers and those of our neighboring utilities. This award also honors the employees that remain behind to keep the lights on at home.”

Considering the three events together, company storm teams comprising nearly 1,400 employees spent 41 days enduring hard work, difficult weather and often-challenging living conditions away from home. Almost half of that time was spent on the Hurricane Sandy restoration, which also represented the company’s largest deployment since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.