Duke Energy Florida has received the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) Emergency Response Award for its efforts in restoring power after Hurricane Milton. The award, given twice a year to EEI member companies, recognizes significant recovery and assistance work following service disruptions caused by severe weather or natural disasters. Recipients are selected by a panel of judges through an international nomination process, with awards presented at EEI’s Fall Board of Directors and Chief Executives Meeting.
“America’s electric companies and their dedicated workforces work tirelessly throughout the year to strengthen the energy grid and to restore power – and peace of mind – for American families and businesses after extreme weather events and natural disasters,” said EEI President and CEO Drew Maloney. “EEI is proud to recognize Duke Energy Florida for its extraordinary response efforts following Hurricane Milton. This recovery award reflects Duke Energy Florida and its storm response team’s incredible commitment to the customers and communities they serve.”
Hurricane Milton struck Florida as a Category 3 hurricane on October 9, 2024. In response, Duke Energy Florida mobilized 16,000 personnel to restore electricity. Within approximately 96 hours, the company restored power to 95% of the one million affected customers. During the restoration process, crews replaced more than 1,600 power poles, over 1,300 transformers, and nearly one million feet of wire and cable.
The company also used self-healing technology that covers about 80% of its customer base. This system automatically detects outages and reroutes power when possible, preventing extended outages. During Hurricane Milton, this technology helped avoid an estimated 3.3 million hours of lost service.
“While Hurricane Milton was a devastating storm that left much of Florida’s west-central coast in the dark, our team’s strategic response helped get our customers’ lights back on as quickly as possible, allowing them to focus on what really matters, like their families and businesses, and begin to pick up the pieces of their lives,” said Todd Fountain, Duke Energy Florida storm director. “We know they depend on us for that, and it’s a responsibility we take extremely seriously – not just during hurricane season, but all year long.”
Duke Energy Florida continues to encourage customers to prepare for storms as the Atlantic hurricane season is ongoing. More information can be found at duke-energy.com/StormTips.
Duke Energy Florida serves about two million customers across a 13,000-square-mile area in Florida with an energy capacity of 12,300 megawatts. Its parent company Duke Energy operates in several states across the Southeast and Midwest United States.
EEI represents U.S. investor-owned electric companies that provide electricity to nearly 250 million Americans nationwide.
For further information or updates from Duke Energy or EEI representatives can be contacted directly.
