APS crews head to Florida for post-hurricane Milton power restoration
Thirty APS employees, including lineworkers and support crewmembers from Phoenix, Yuma, Douglas, Casa Grande, Payson, Snowflake, Flagstaff, Wickenburg, Cottonwood and Prescott loaded up their bucket trucks and hit the road Thursday morning, Oct. 10. Central and southern Arizona crews met in Benson for departure while northern Arizona crews gathered in Flagstaff before meeting up in Holbrook with employees from Payson and Snowflake to caravan across the country. They’re scheduled to arrive in Florida Saturday, joining teams from other utilities to support the effort which could take a month.
Robert Houle, APS Construction Maintenance Supervisor, is leading the crews on the cross-country journey. While he knows the days ahead will be long and strenuous, he and the crews are focused on helping people in need.
“Our mission is more than reconnecting wires – it’s rebuilding resilience and relighting the path to recovery for communities who lost everything,” said Houle. “We expect to encounter extreme destruction and challenging environments as we work to safely restore power. It’s rewarding to be a part of this effort, getting essential infrastructure back up so people and businesses can get back on their feet. We’re confident our fellow lineworkers would do the same if we needed help here at home."
The APS lineworkers, who typically work in all parts of the state, volunteered to leave their homes and day-to-day duties in Arizona as part of a mutual assistance network with energy providers nationwide. When natural disasters strike, causing significant damage to the electric system and leading to widespread or extended power outages, electric companies turn to those in the mutual assistance network for support. APS is fulfilling the request from utilities in Florida, while continuing to provide reliable service for customers at home in Arizona.
Providing mutual assistance is not new to APS. In 2022, APS crews traveled to Grass Valley, CA after destructive winter storms. In 2018, crews helped with restoration efforts in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria and later that year offered assistance to utilities in Paradise, California after the devastating Camp Wildfire. In 2012, APS crews supported restoration efforts in New York after Superstorm Sandy.
APS serves approximately 1.4 million homes and businesses in 11 of Arizona’s 15 counties, and is a leader in delivering affordable, reliable, and clean energy in the Southwest. The company is committed to serving customers with 100% clean power by 2050. As owner and operator of Palo Verde Generating Station, one of the nation’s largest producers of carbon-free electricity, and with one of the country’s most substantial renewable energy portfolios, APS’s current energy mix is 51% clean. With headquarters in Phoenix, APS is the principal subsidiary of Pinnacle West Capital Corp. (NYSE: PNW).
