As Hurricane Milton approaches Florida's west coast, FirstEnergy Corp. is mobilizing over 580 line workers and support personnel to assist in power restoration efforts with Florida Power & Light and Duke Energy. Many of these crews are transitioning from recent operations in the Carolinas and Georgia after Hurricane Helene. A new group of support staff departed from FirstEnergy's service area today, with all personnel expected to arrive in Florida by Friday, post-storm.
Hurricane Milton is forecasted to make landfall late Wednesday night on Florida's Gulf Coast, bringing storm surge, flooding rain, tornadoes, and damaging winds across much of west-central Florida.
FirstEnergy electric companies participating in this mutual assistance effort include those from Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and West Virginia. These include Ohio Edison, Toledo Edison, The Illuminating Company in Ohio; Penn Power, Penelec, West Penn Power and Met-Ed in Pennsylvania; Mon Power in West Virginia; Potomac Edison in West Virginia and Maryland; and Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) in New Jersey.
John Huber, Director of Emergency Preparedness at FirstEnergy stated: "FirstEnergy employees are answering the call to help rebuild communities expected to be impacted by Hurricane Milton. These dedicated crews leave their own families for weeks at a time to support large-scale power restoration efforts."
Previously engaged in restoring power post-Hurricane Helene— which caused widespread outages after hitting as a Category 4 storm—nearly 430 FirstEnergy personnel supported various utilities across affected regions. Approximately 100 of these workers will now head to Florida for continued aid.
FirstEnergy is part of multiple utility mutual-assistance groups that facilitate resource pooling during large-scale outages caused by natural disasters. This cooperation aims to expedite service restoration for affected customers.
The company emphasizes its commitment to integrity, safety, reliability, and operational excellence through its extensive electric distribution network across several states. Follow FirstEnergy online or on X @FirstEnergyCorp for updates.
For media inquiries: Hannah Catlett – Ohio Edison (440) 554-5346; Todd Meyers – West Penn Power (724) 838-6650; Will Boye – Mon Power (240) 707-0271; Chris Hoenig – JCP&L (609) 350-8599