Lubbock Power & Light Crews Continue Efforts in Florida for Hurricane Milton Recovery

Lubbock Power & Light (LP&L) crews are returning to Gainesville, Florida, this week to assist with Hurricane Milton recovery efforts. In preparation for power restoration, LP&L is sending 13 vehicles and 15 crewmembers. These crewmembers will replace the 15 LP&L employees who just returned from Hurricane Helene recovery efforts.

The LP&L vehicles departed Tuesday from the LP&L Distribution Center to Gainesville, Florida. On Tuesday, they drove to Ruston, Louisiana and on Wednesday they complete the journey to Gainesville where they will shelter until the storm passes.

The 15 crewmembers making the trip include two construction crews, two service crews, and one mechanic. The call out for assistance comes as a result of a mutual service agreement signed by LP&L to assist in these types of disaster recovery events.

In the last few weeks, LP&L had already been assisting Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) with Hurricane Helene recovery efforts. Preliminary data shows that GRU has not experienced this level of damage since Hurricane Irma in 2017. The restoration process involved changing out around 100 poles, 70 transformers, and miles of conductor. All told, the first round of LP&L crews worked over 195 hours and traveled approximately 3,000 miles in order to safely restore power after Hurricane Helene.

As Florida continues to recover from Hurricane Helene, local resources are limited and we will continue to provide support in response to extensive damage from both hurricanes.

Given the disaster declaration issued, all expenses related to LP&L’s efforts in restoring power to residents of Florida will be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

"Florida's recovery from these consecutive hurricanes will take time, but mutual aid ensures we can contribute to their swift recovery," said Joel Ivy, LP&L Chief Administrative Officer. "We’re proud to be part of the nationwide effort to bring communities back on their feet and demonstrate the power of collaboration in times of crisis."