The team at T&D World wishes a Happy New Year to linemen and their families. As we look ahead to the future, we are also honoring those utilities who gave back to their communities during the holiday season. Here are just a few of the ways that utilities helped those in need. How did your company reach out to your local community? Email Field Editor Amy Fischbach with your stories and photos.
Distributing LED Light Bulbs and Energy Efficiency Kits
Georgia Power distributed 8,000 energy efficiency kits from the company's Energy Efficiency Program to income-qualified customers across the state. The company also announced a distribution of nearly 150,000 ENERGY STAR LEDs through partnering food bank facilities. The energy efficiency kits and LED bulbs will provide assistance through free energy efficiency upgrades designed to save customers money and make their homes more efficient.
Supplying Free Food and Necessities to Families
Thousands of Louisiana families will have access to nutritious food and other necessities thanks to Entergy’s partnerships with local community service organizations across the state. The company provided more than $88,000 to Louisiana food pantries and nonprofits during the holiday season, bringing the total given to alleviate hunger in Louisiana to nearly $300,000 in 2020.
Providing Relief in Ontario
Alectra’s employees and customers stepped up for their communities this holiday season and collectively, through three campaigns, donated 300,000 meals to Feed Ontario and $337,050 to United Way.
Sewing Face Masks for Those in Need
At Eversource, employees and their families from New Hampshire, Connecticut and Massachusetts made no-sew face masks. The volunteers cut out the pattern using clean T-shirts. The face masks were then donated to United Way community agencies and donated to those in need.
Providing $1 Million in Bill Credits
Tampa Electric and TECO Peoples Gas are granting $1 million in bill credits to customers in need. A one-time $85 bill credit will appear on January bills for residential customers who have received certain federal low-income assistance during 2020, including the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and Emergency Home Energy Assistance for the Elderly Program (EHEAP).
“It is important for our customers to know we are here for them during this difficult time,” said Nancy Tower, president and chief executive officer of Tampa Electric. “We take pride in being a strong community partner, and we are glad to be able to help ease the burden for thousands of our customers who are most affected by financial hardship.”
