The Edison Electric Institute recognized Georgia Power and sister utilities Alabama Power and Gulf Power at a January 11 awards ceremony for their efforts to assist Gulf Coast utilities in restoring electricity to customers who lost power following Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma.

Southern Company Chairman, President and CEO David Ratcliffe accepted the award on behalf of the Georgia Power employees who worked alongside utilities in Mississippi, Texas and Florida to help restore power to millions of customers following these major hurricanes.

Between August and November of 2005, Georgia Power sent nearly 1,600 employees, 360 line and bucket trucks and 1,260 contractors to the hardest hit areas to assess damage, make repairs and assist neighboring utilities with restoration. Storm crews devoted more than 1.3 million man hours over 35 days to help restore power in Gulf Coast states hit by the hurricanes. Fifty Georgia Power employees still remain in Mississippi to help with hurricane cleanup and will be there as long as they’re needed.

“Georgia Power employees who provided assistance to these utilities faced a monumental task,” said Georgia Power President and CEO Mike Garrett. “After Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi Power alone had 100 percent of its customers in the dark and more than 1,900 miles of transmission line and 8,900 distribution poles out of operation. Yet, despite extremely difficult work conditions and long days, crews throughout Southern Company were able to help get the power back on to most customers in just 12 days, rather than weeks. This was an amazing feat considering the extent of damage.”

In addition to manpower, Georgia Power provided materials and equipment necessary to repair or, in many cases, completely rebuild the electrical system in devastated areas; gas tankers to refuel not only Georgia Power and contractor vehicles but also vehicles from assisting vendors and other utilities; and generators for hospitals and communications towers.

In addition, the company constructed 12 major tent cities or staging areas to house and equip 11,000 storm workers and delivered portable laundry facilities, portolets, showers, cots, linens and blankets. When portable showers became scarce, a Georgia Power team designed and built additional portable showers and sinks for crews.

“During this unprecedented hurricane season, many of our employees were away from their families for weeks at a time,” said Mickey Brown, executive vice president of Georgia Power’s customer service organization. “In addition to storm crews deployed to the area to help with restoration, we also had nearly 100 employees who volunteered to go to Mississippi to help Mississippi Power employees whose homes had been damaged or destroyed by the hurricanes. This really speaks to the dedication and compassion of our folks.”

To feed storm crews, Georgia Power brought in a caterer that provided meals three times a day for 11,000 workers. The company also sent personnel to Mississippi to provide security for workers and nursing teams from among its medical staff to administer tetanus shots.

Through the use of two automated technology systems, Georgia Power was able to help reduce work time in the field and keep crews updated with the most current outage information.

Georgia Power is the largest subsidiary of Southern Company, one of the nation’s largest generators of electricity. The company is an investor-owned, tax-paying utility, serving customers in 57,000 of the state’s 59,000 square miles. Georgia Power’s rates are below the national average and its two million customers are in all but six of Georgia’s 159 counties.