For the seventh year in a row, Georgia Power and other electric utilities in Georgia are celebrating and thanking linemen across the state. The daily work done by linemen in Georgia's communities is always recognized, but their work is especially pronounced during outages following severe weather such as spring and summer thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes and snow and ice storms in the winter.
"Whether it is a historic hurricane, a summer storm or a fallen tree that knocks out power, our linemen work as quickly and safely as possible to get the power back on for our 2.6 million customers across Georgia," says Pedro Cherry, executive vice president of customer service and operations for Georgia Power. "That's why we are proud to recognize them and show our appreciation not just this month, but every day."
In 2018, the third-strongest hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. in modern recorded history, Hurricane Michael, crossed through the state, with the hardest hit areas in Southwest Georgia. To complete restoration as quickly and safely as possible, more than 5800 personnel and crews from Georgia Power, other Southern Company operating companies and assisting utilities worked around the clock to fully restore power to more than 422,000 customers. They replaced about 2,000 broken or damaged power poles and nearly 220 miles of wire (4,800 spans) and cleared more than 1,200 fallen trees that caused damage. Georgia residents did not wait for April to say thanks – roadsides, parking lots and social media "lit up" in the days following the storm with signs and letters of thanks for workers' fast responses.
A Powerful Assistance Network
In addition to serving the company's 2.6 million customers in Georgia, Georgia Power linemen are often called away from their families to help restore power to neighboring states when major storms or disasters occur. These linemen can travel thousands of miles each year and can spend weeks in the field helping restore power to customers as far away as New York and Houston. Thanks in large part to these linemen, the company has received recognition from the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) for outstanding emergency response, including multiple Emergency Recovery Awards and the Emergency Assistance Award.
To encourage customers to show their appreciation for the linemen, Georgia Power has asked them to sign a digital card at www.georgiapower.com/thankalineman. Additionally, Georgians can celebrate and engage with linemen stories and videos on social media by using and following #ThankALineman and visiting Georgia Power's Facebook (www.facebook.com/GeorgiaPower), Twitter (@GeorgiaPower) and Instagram (@ga_power) pages.
