Power companies from the D.C. area are heading to Florida to help with what will likely be one of the largest power restoration efforts in the nation's history.
Crews will help hundreds of other contractors already in Florida removing trees and debris.
(AP Photo/Desmond Boylan)
AP Photo/Desmond Boylan
Power crews from the D.C. metropolitan area are heading down to Florida, Georgia and wherever else they are needed to help with clean up from Hurricane Irma.
(WTOP/Dennis Foley)
WTOP/Dennis Foley
Crews may face one of the largest power restoration efforts in the nation’s history.
(WTOP/Dennis Foley)
WTOP/Dennis Foley
A Florida Highway Patrol trooper inspects a closed segment of Interstate 4, near State Road 434, in Longwood, Fla. Monday, Sept. 11, 2017, after a portion of the interstate highway northeast of Orlando washed away during Hurricane Irma’s passing through central Florida, Sunday night.
(Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP
Fallen trees are seen during Hurricane Irma, in Fort Myers, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017. Hurricane Irma set all sorts of records for brute strength before crashing into Florida, flattening islands in the Caribbean and swamping the Florida Keys.
(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Wind and rain from Hurricane Irma caused a tree fall on a car and brought down utility lines on Monday, Sept. 11, 2017, in Macon, Ga.
(Woody Marshall/The Macon Telegraph via AP)
Woody Marshall/The Macon Telegraph via AP
This photo provided by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office shows the wreckage of a truck wrapped around a tree near 98th Street and Highway 1 in Marathon, Fla., in the Florida Keys on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. Authorities say they are investigating whether Hurricane Irma’s wind and rains contributed to the fatal crash.
(Monroe County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
Monroe County Sheriff’s Office via AP
Arthur Shine, of Key West, Fla., watches from his hotel window as Hurricane Irma hits in Fort Myers, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017. Hurricane Irma battered the region and caused widespread power outages.
(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
The Atlanta skyline is seen Monday, Sept. 11, 2017. More than 250 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico — was under a tropical storm warning for the first time on Mon., Sept. 11, 2017. Forecasters said the metro area could expect peak winds of 40 mph (65 kph) and gusts up to 55 mph (90 kph) on Monday as Hurricane Irma’s remnants moved across the southeastern United States.
(AP Photo/Alex Sanz)
AP Photo/Alex Sanz
Debris litters the street following Hurricane Irma at Marco Island, Fla., on Monday, Sept. 11, 2017.
(Loren Elliott/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Loren Elliott/Tampa Bay Times via AP
Joe Raymond carries a dog crate while leaving his mother’s fourth floor apartment where he rode out Hurricane Irma with his family to return to their low lying home a mile away in Marco Island, Fla., Monday, Sept. 11, 2017.
(AP Photo/David Goldman)
AP Photo/David Goldman
Storm clouds associated with the outer bands of Hurricane Irma shroud the downtown skyline Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017, in Tampa, Fla. Several parts of the Tampa Bay area are under a mandatory evacuation order for the approaching storm.
(AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
AP Photo/Chris O’Meara
A member of the Orange County fire department plays with a puppy rescued from a flooded neighborhood in Orange County, Fla., Monday, Sept. 11, 2017. The National Guard and local firefighters evacuated homes by boat as Hurricane Irma bore down on the county overnight. Rescuers said residents left the puppy in a cage, and it was almost drowning when firefighters found it.
(AP Photo/Claire Galofaro)
WASHINGTON — As millions in Florida wait for their electricity to come back on after Hurricane Irma battered the region and caused widespread outages, utility crews from around the country are heading to the state to help with what will likely be one of the largest power restoration efforts in the nation’s history.
Power companies from the D.C. metropolitan area have been sending employees to assist, and Dominion Energy said it is contributing more resources to the effort this week.
“Our employees and contractors are heading south with the expectation that they will be restoring power for at least two weeks,” said Ed Baine, senior vice president of power delivery with Dominion. “We are proud of their willingness to leave their families and friends to work long days, providing desperately needed help.”
The group that Dominion is sending Tuesday includes more than 120 employees such as linemen, damage assessors and safety experts. They will join 300 contractors from Virginia and North Carolina who will help hundreds of other contractors already in Florida removing trees and debris.
Dominion said its employees will operate under the authority of the local Florida utility companies.
“We’ll take our instructions from them and they will tell us exactly what they want us to do,” said Dominion spokesman Chuck Penn. “There will be tons of equipment, and they will just go from there and start the restoration.”
Hundreds of other utility crew members from the D.C. area have already been sent to Florida, Georgia and wherever else they are needed.
Baltimore Gas and Electric sent roughly 200 employees as part of the 1,800 or so team that its parent company, Exelon, brought in to assist. Sister utilities Pepco and Delmarva Power also sent employees as part of the Exelon contingent.
“Our crews will follow direction,” said BGE spokeswoman Linda Foy. “They just go in and they start rebuilding the electric system, doing whatever is required to get customers in that area back in service.”
