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News Release
Sept. 29, 2004
Fresh PNM Crews Sent to Florida To Restore
Power
in Hurricane Jeanne Aftermath
Albuquerque: Seven new PNM crew members will be sent
to Florida tomorrow to help restore power in the aftermath
of Hurricane Jeanne. The latest estimates indicate that more
than 1.9 million homes and businesses are without power after
this most recent storm.
PNM crews will fly out of Albuquerque tomorrow morning to
work in the Daytona Beach, Fla., area for Florida Power and
Light. These relief crews will replace some of the 31 PNM
crew members who have been working 16-hour days for the last
two weeks throughout Alabama and Florida to help restore power
in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan.
PNM crews originally headed out of Albuquerque Sept. 16 with
more than $2.5 million in equipment to assist Alabama Power
with restoring power. Crew members spent five days in the
Birmingham, Ala., area replacing equipment and rebuilding
lines, ultimately restoring power to thousands of customers.
On their way back to New Mexico last week, crews were turned
back and dispatched to the Pensacola, Fla., area, where they
have been working to restore power since last Friday morning.
The crews have stayed in tents, hotels and condominiums since
they arrived.
"The devastation we have seen is unbelievable, and the
work has been very challenging. We're not doing just usual
repair work, we're literally rebuilding their infrastructure
one pole at a time," said Mark Martinez, line crew supervisor
at PNM. "What has made it all worthwhile is the generosity
of the people. Many people have come out of their homes offering
us food and drinks and have been very thankful for our efforts."
Just a few days after crews started work, PNM started receiving
e-mails thanking the company for sending crews to provide
assistance.
After being contacted by Alabama Power and other utilities,
PNM assessed its current work schedule and asked for volunteers
interested in traveling to some of the impacted Southern states.
More than 45 qualified employees volunteered to help.
PNM is part of the Mutual Assistance Program,
sponsored by Edison Electric Institute, a coalition of utilities
volunteering to assist other utilities facing catastrophic
emergencies.
PNM will have a corporate communications member,
Teala Kail, on site with PNM crews in Florida from Thursday,
Sept. 30 to Monday, Oct. 3. She will be available for media
interviews via cell phone or through broadcast affiliates
and will be sending digital photographs back to PNM on a daily
basis. Please page Amy Miller at 790-3542 for assistance with
interviews and photographs.
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