FEU Crews Heading Home

September 15, 2021

Updated Sept. 13, 2021, 8 p.m.

FirstEnergy employees helping with Hurricane Ida restoration efforts are scheduled to begin traveling back from Louisiana this morning. They are expected to return home on Wednesday night.

A contingent of approximately 500 line workers, fleet mechanics, corporate support personnel and company contractors spent more than a week assisting Entergy with restoration efforts. They helped to restore power in the city of Baton Rouge and communities just outside of New Orleans.

Even when they had no power at their home, Jennifer Cimoneaus and her family purchased pizzas for FirstEnergy line workers to thank them for helping to rebuild the electric system in their neighborhood.

FirstEnergy Workers Met with Southern Hospitality

Updated Sept. 10, 2021, 12 p.m.

Jennifer Cimoneaus and her family had been without power in their New Orleans home since August 29. You’d never know that with their positive and upbeat personalities—especially as temperatures in southeast Louisiana soared to nearly 100 degrees over the past week.

Cimoneaus and her 7-year-old son, Jayden, were outside in front of their damaged home greeting FirstEnergy line workers with boxes of pizza and thanking them for making the trip down to help their local communities rebuild after Hurricane Ida.

Hundreds of FirstEnergy utility workers from all 10 of its electric companies have been working within a 15-mile radius of Cimoneaus’ home, which is located in Jefferson Parish. They are working to rebuild several miles of the local power system that was damaged and, in some cases, completely destroyed by Ida’s wind speeds that clocked well over 100 mph. Their work includes replacing hundreds of downed and broken utility poles and restringing and hanging new power lines and electrical equipment.

“After going through Hurricane Katrina, we have a deep appreciation for electric utility workers because they truly are the first step in helping our communities rebuild,” said Cimoneaus. “For them to leave their families and come down here for weeks at a time, it really means a lot to me and my neighbors.”

Despite the significant damage to the exterior of her home, Cimoneaus said her family fared pretty well during this storm and she feels like one of the “lucky ones.”

“We have been able to operate a generator for a few hours throughout the day, so that keeps us cool during the hottest times of the day,” she said. “My son, however, prefers to be outside watching all the linemen use their trucks and equipment. He’s in his glory!”

According to Brent Coakley, one of several FirstEnergy operations directors overseeing the company’s contingent of 500 utility workers, southern hospitality has been on display since they arrived in Louisiana.

“People return home for the first time to see that they have lost a lot, but they still take the time to thank our crews who are working in their neighborhood and offer them cold drinks and food,” he said.

FirstEnergy is a member of multiple electric utility mutual-assistance groups that work cooperatively to restore service to customers when a natural disaster causes large-scale power outages. Mutual assistance allows utilities to pool their resources to help restore power to customers faster. FirstEnergy and its employees have been honored numerous times by the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) with its “Emergency Assistance Award” for the mutual assistance the company has provided during winter and summer storms.

FirstEnergy line workers, forestry crews, support personnel and internal contractors have been in Louisiana assisting Entergy with restoration efforts for about two weeks, and they expect to provide assistance for several more days.

“The electric utility industry relies heavily on mutual assistance,” said Coakley. “No individual company has the resources to essentially rebuild an entire grid or face the kind of catastrophic damage they are facing in Louisiana.”

FirstEnergy line crews are helping to rebuild the electric system in southeastern Louisiana after destruction caused by Hurricane Ida.

Rebuilding After Ida

Updated Sept. 9, 2021, 10 a.m.

About 260 FirstEnergy employees are helping to rebuild the electric system in southeastern Louisiana following massive destruction caused by Hurricane Ida. The contingent – which includes line workers, fleet mechanics and corporate support personnel – has spent the last week working in the city of Baton Rouge and in Jefferson Parish (just outside of New Orleans), assisting Entergy with restoration efforts.

According to Entergy, Hurricane Ida made landfall with sustained winds of 150 mph, tremendous storm surge and major flooding, making it one of the most devastating storms to hit the region. The category 4 storm knocked out power to nearly 950,000 customers in parts of Louisiana and Mississippi.

“The damage to the electric system in the area is extensive,” said John Huber, director, Emergency Preparedness. “Our crews are working in some of the hardest-hit areas from the hurricane, where powerful winds broke cross arms, knocked down wires and snapped thousands of utility poles. We are helping to reconstruct the electric grid from the ground up.”

John said that crews are facing additional challenges during the restoration effort, including temperatures in excess of 100 degrees, COVID-19 mitigation measures, and inaccessibility to certain areas due to flooding. “Employees also have to watch out for dangerous local wildlife – such as alligators and snakes – that have been displaced from their normal habitat due to the high-water levels,” he added.

Crews from all of our utility companies are part of the mutual assistance effort, including: The Illuminating Company (CEI), Ohio Edison, Toledo Edison, Penn Power, Penelec, West Penn Power, Met-Ed, Mon Power, Potomac Edison and JCP&L.

FirstEnergy also released approximately 240 contractors – including line and forestry workers – to help with restoration activities, bringing the total workforce from our region to about 500 personnel. The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) reported that more than 27,000 workers from 41 states (and the District of Columbia) will continue working around the clock to restore power to customers as safely and as quickly as possible.

FirstEnergy crews are expected to remain in Louisiana for another one to two weeks assisting with the restoration efforts.

A FirstEnergy line worker examines debris left by Hurricane Ida’s 150-mph winds.

Crews Mobilize to Assist Hurricane Ida Restoration Efforts

Updated Aug. 30, 2021, 1 p.m.

A caravan of Penn Power vehicles prepares to leave for Louisiana to help with Hurricane Ida restoration efforts.

Approximately 500 line workers, forestry crews, support personnel and internal contractors are headed to Louisiana to help Entergy with power restoration efforts following Hurricane Ida. Crews began leaving Sunday morning and expect to arrive in Louisiana throughout the day on Tuesday.

Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana Sunday afternoon, bringing extreme winds, storm surge and flash flooding along the northeast Gulf Coast. More than a million customers are currently without power in Louisiana, and more than 100,000 have lost power in Mississippi. Personnel will be deployed to the most damaged areas when it’s safe to do so.

All 10 of FirstEnergy’s operating companies are part of the mutual assistance effort, which includes crews from The Illuminating Company, Ohio Edison, Toledo Edison, Penn Power, Penelec, West Penn Power, Met-Ed, Mon Power, Potomac Edison and JCP&L. Support personnel from FirstEnergy’s corporate offices also are included in the company’s contingent.

“Many of our line workers have been to Louisiana in the past to help following other hurricanes, and they are committed to assisting what is likely to be a massive power restoration effort in challenging working conditions,” said John Skory, vice president, Utility Operations. “While it’s not expected that Hurricane Ida will have a significant impact on our FirstEnergy service territories, we have carefully assessed conditions and are confident we have the personnel in place to maintain reliable operations for our customers at home.”