Zubaly: Municipal Utilities Did Excellent Job Restoring Power

Letter to the editor

In the aftermath of August’s Hurricane Idalia, Florida’s municipal electric utilities did an excellent job restoring power to their communities. The City of Alachua, City of Newberry, City of Williston, and Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) all performed well in their response and were able to quickly restore power to customers after Idalia.

This well-honed response is the result of year-round preparedness planning and implementation of measures that have strengthened these utilities’ electric systems and increased resiliency. Activities such as routine vegetation management; replacing and upgrading utility poles, transformers, and breakers; and installing new substations and circuits not only aid in the restoration of power but also minimize outages from even happening in the first place.

Getting their customers’ power back online so efficiently following Idalia is not only a testament to their  readiness and the tireless efforts of their crews, but to the support of the hundreds of mutual aid crews that came from all over the country to help fellow public power communities. And, after Newberry’s and GRU’s crews had finished ensuring their customers were fully restored, they headed out to help other communities in need.

Hats off to these utilities for an exemplary response!

Amy Zubaly, Executive Director of the Florida Municipal Electric Association