National Grid Upstate New York Crews Headed to Florida to Support Preparations for Hurricane Milton

National Grid’s operations specialists will continue to support storm restoration efforts in the southeast by heading to Florida to assist in preparation for Hurricane Milton, which is expected to make landfall this week.

 Since Sept. 28 about 160 National Grid Upstate New York employees have been supporting restoration efforts after Hurricane Helene brought extensive damage in West Virginia, Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida. With that work wrapping up, all crews will head to Florida to support Duke Energy.

“The anticipated impact of Hurricane Milton will likely require significant mutual aid. National Grid crews are answering that call. Our employees know the devastation large storms bring to communities and we appreciate our team’s dedication as they continue to support areas of the country seeing multiple storms in these past few weeks,” said Sally Librera, President, National Grid New York. “Assisting peer energy delivery companies during a time of need is an important component of how the utility industry shows up for customers and their communities.”

In addition, the company’s New York team will be joined in Florida by nearly 50 National Grid electric operation colleagues from Massachusetts who will be assisting Tampa Electric in storm preparation and response.

The complexity of power restoration after a catastrophic storm requires significant logistical expertise, along with skilled line workers and specialized equipment, which is why utilities rely on each other for aid. National Grid typically sends crews to assist other utilities following severe storms as part of a mutual assistance program. Similarly, other utilities from across the country and Canada respond to assistance requests from National Grid following severely damaging storms.

Hurricane Milton is expected to hit the west coast of Florida on Wednesday bringing strong winds and heavy rain to a region that has already seen heavy rain from the impact of Hurricane Helene two weeks ago.

Image