Community Commitment
January 8, 2025
Xcel Energy crews receive national award for hurricane relief work
Over 100 employees joined restoration efforts after Hurricanes Helene and Milton
When back-to-back hurricanes Helene and Milton devastated portions of the southeastern United States last fall, over 100 Xcel Energy employees answered the call for mutual assistance, helping to restore power and bring hope to impacted communities.
This month, Edison Electric Institute (EEI) recognized the hard work and dedication of these line workers, safety consultants, fleet mechanics and operations leaders with an Emergency Response Award. Presented to EEI member companies twice a year, these 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.
"Our dedicated crews are committed to keeping communities safe and restoring power as quickly as possible whether catastrophe strikes in our service areas or around the country," said Michael Lamb, senior vice president, Customer Delivery. "I'm proud of Xcel Energy’s teams who quickly mobilized to join other neighboring utilities that converged on Florida and Georgia and credit our frontline workers for this recognition from Edison Electric Institute.”
Xcel Energy was recognized in the Emergency Assistance Award category, which celebrates companies that come to the aid of another company following service disruptions caused by extreme weather or other natural events. Xcel Energy employees traveled from Minnesota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas to help local electric utilities in Georgia and Florida with their restoration efforts. Working long hours in challenging conditions, these crews displayed incredible dedication – not only to residents, but to their fellow utility workers. The effort is in line with Xcel Energy's commitment to improving reliability and building trust through service in communities across the country.
Xcel Energy is part of the EEI’s Mutual Assistance program. Following major storms that bring significant outages, electric companies use this program — a voluntary partnership of electric companies from across the country — to help speed restoration. For more about mutual assistance visit EEI.org.
Learn more about our Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton relief efforts.