Staff Reports
The Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA) recognized Newberry and 15 other Florida public power utilities with the Restoring Communities Award.
According to a city of Newberry press release, the Restoring Communities Award recognizes public power utilities for “exemplary power restoration efforts in their communities and for providing or receiving mutual aid” in significant weather events like Hurricane Idalia, and in other weather- and non-weather-related emergencies.
Newberry sent line workers and equipment to several communities and cooperative electric systems and provided firefighting staff and water system employees to hard-hit areas.
“Thanks to all of our utilities for the work they do each day to strengthen their systems and the extra hours they put in to get the power back on after weather or other emergency events,” Amy Zubaly, FMEA executive director, said in a press release. “Also, my sincere admiration and appreciation go to the utilities that supported other FMEA member utilities while completing their significant resilience and reliability projects.”
Zubaly said Florida public power communities have been reducing outages and speeding up restoration times through a network of mutual aid support, in and out of state, as well as millions of dollars in continuous investment in electric grids and system infrastructure.
“Lending a helping hand to one another goes to the very core of what it means to be a public power community,” Jamie Jones, Newberry’s assistant city manager for utilities and public works, said in a press release. “Sometimes, we are the ones to send out a call for assistance, and sometimes, we are the ones answering. Knowing that a fellow public power utility will always be there for you when needed is very reassuring and helps us ensure we are providing our customers with reliable service.”
Electric utilities can call on each other for skilled emergency workers and supplies through mutual aid agreements, and public power utilities can benefit from the American Public Power Association’s network of mutual assistance partners. FMEA serves as mutual aid coordinator for Florida’s 33 public power utilities.