Crews coordinated response efforts for Louisiana customers after devastating hurricane

CHICAGO (June 22, 2022) – The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) recognized ComEd today with an Emergency Response Award for its assistance efforts to restore power to homes and businesses in Louisiana following Hurricane Ida. ComEd sent a team of employees to help local utility Entergy manage and direct utility workers coming from out of state.

Under ComEd supervision, more than 350 construction workers from six contracting companies replaced more than 400 utility poles and 100 distribution transformers and repaired more than 1,000 instances of downed wires and broken power pole cross arms.

"Climate change is challenging the electric grid nationwide by bringing more extreme weather that make it necessary for utilities to strengthen their systems and response capabilities," said Terence R. Donnelly, ComEd president and COO. "This award represents the great work done specifically by this team as well as thousands of ComEd employees who work year-round responding to a multitude of challenges both at home and around the country helping other utilities recover."

Hurricane Ida was the second-most damaging and intense hurricane on record to make landfall in Louisiana, behind Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Hurricane Ida had maximum sustained winds of 150 mph at landfall and caused more than 1 million customers to lose power in Louisiana.

"Over the past year, electric companies confronted severe storms and extreme weather events, including hurricanes, tornadoes, and winter storms, that impacted customers and communities across the nation," said EEI President Tom Kuhn. "Despite challenging conditions, ComEd and its employees worked around the clock to restore power safely and as quickly as possible following Hurricane Ida. I congratulate and applaud ComEd and their employees for their continued dedication to the customers and communities that they serve, and I am honored to present them with this well-deserved award."

Presented to EEI member companies, the Emergency Response Awards recognize recovery and assistance efforts of electric companies following service disruptions caused by extreme weather or other natural events. The winners were chosen by a panel of judges following an international nomination process, and the awards were presented during EEI 2022, EEI's annual thought leadership forum.

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