CMP recognized with National Storm Recovery Award
AUGUSTA — The Edison Electric institute has recognized Central Maine Power as a recipient of EEI’s Emergency Response Award. Presented to EEI member companies, 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’s virtual winter board and chief executives meeting.
CMP was recognized for its response to a storm that dumped more than a foot of heavy snow across the state, coupled with a back-to-back wind event in April 2020 causing 280,000 outages. CMP was the first utility in the country to respond to a major storm event with what were then new COVID-19 safety protocols
“Over the past year, many of our nation’s electric companies and their customers have endured historic storms and wildfires and other significant weather-related events” said EEI President Tom Kuhn. “Working around the clock to restore power safely and quickly to customers and deploying mutual assistance crews to support impacted companies are hallmarks of the electric power industry. When disasters strike, impacted and neighboring electric companies are quick to assess damage and to respond and assist with restoration.
I congratulate and applaud Central Maine Power for demonstrating continued commitment to the customers and to the communities it serves. In the midst of a global pandemic and often in the most hazardous of conditions, CMP and its frontline employees worked around-the-clock to restore service safely and quickly.”
David Flanagan, executive board chair of CMP congratulated the hundreds of employees who contributed to the storm recovery effort over the Easter 2020 holiday, “This is well-deserved recognition for all CMP employees who play a role in major storm recovery on behalf of our customers: from our lineworkers using new pandemic safety techniques in challenging weather; to our logistics team who had to feed and house workers in the face of closed hotels and restaurants; to our contact center representatives who fielded calls from anxious customers getting used to learning and working from home. We are grateful for your hard work”
CMP was assisted in the storm response by line and tree crews from sister Avangrid companies, out of state utilities, and both in state and out of state contractors.