For nearly 100 years, the phrase "A Citizen Wherever We Serve" has defined our corporate character. Southern Company and its subsidiaries are deeply committed to improving the lives of others and elevating the quality of life in the communities where we live, work and serve. When Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in September, the Category 4 storm left millions without power.
At Southern Company, we felt morally compelled to extend our commitment beyond the towns, cities and states we call home and bring our expertise to an area that was in such grave need.
Assets from across the entire Southern Company system were deployed in this monumental restoration effort. Our subsidiary PowerSecure–which has responded to every named domestic storm in the last eight years–began working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the early days of the response. Damage assessment teams from PowerSecure were among the first energy company personnel on the island. Each day saw PowerSecure's commitment to the island increase with the arrival–by barge–of much-needed equipment and supplies as well as additional personnel, including transmission and distribution, leadership and logistics.
Equipment and crews from each of Southern Company's four traditional electric operating companies–Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power and Mississippi Power–joined the effort in December as part of the mutual assistance initiative in which many utilities participated. To form its fleet, the Southern Company system shipped hundreds of trucks–bucket trucks, digger derricks, pickups and more–to the island via barge. In all, over 1,000 Southern Company system personnel replaced thousands of power poles to help restore power to tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans in extremely challenging conditions and over difficult terrain.
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Southern Company system crews worked in rugged terrain and difficult conditions on the western side of Puerto Rico near the community of Mayagüez. |