The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) recently awarded Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company (OG&E) two Emergency Response Awards recognizing the electric company’s restoration efforts following the March and May severe weather events.
In March, OG&E’s response to severe winds and wildfires in Oklahoma earned them a Recovery Award when a dedicated team of over 700 crew members worked swiftly and tirelessly to restore power to nearly 78,000 affected customers within 48 hours. Their efforts included repairing 38 miles of power lines and replacing 360 poles, demonstrating their unwavering commitment to service and community.
The second Recovery Award was granted for OG&E’s response to widespread thunderstorms in May in northeastern Oklahoma. The area experienced heavy rain, hail, and winds of up to 70 mph over a two-day period, resulting in more than 47,500 outages. Despite the extensive damage to the power infrastructure and numerous trees falling on power lines, OG&E’s team managed to restore power efficiently and effectively.
“America’s electric companies and their dedicated workforces work tirelessly throughout the year to strengthen the energy grid and to restore power—and peace of mind—for American families and businesses after extreme weather events and natural disasters,” said EEI President and CEO Drew Maloney. “EEI is proud to recognize OG&E for its extraordinary response efforts following the March and May severe weather events. These recovery awards reflect OG&E and its storm response team’s incredible commitment to the customers and communities they serve.”
“These awards reflect the strength and dedication of our teams,” said OGE Energy Corp. Chairman, President, and CEO Sean Trauschke. “When severe weather impacts our communities, our employees respond with urgency, expertise, and care to restore power to every customer as quickly and safely as possible.”
The EEI awards recognize recovery and assistance efforts of electric companies following service disruptions caused by extreme weather or other natural events.
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EEI is the association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies. Our members provide safe, reliable electricity for nearly 250 million Americans, and operate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. As a whole, the electric power industry supports more than 7 million jobs in communities across the United States. In addition to our U.S. members, EEI has more than 50 international electric companies, with operations in more than 60 countries, as International Members, and hundreds of industry suppliers and related organizations as Associate Members.