The Edison Electric Institute presented Georgia Power with the association’s “Emergency Recovery Award” for its power restoration efforts after 14 tornadoes hit Georgia in March 2019.
 
The Emergency Recovery Award is given to select EEI member companies to recognize their efforts to restore power to customers after service disruptions caused by severe weather conditions or other natural events. The winners are chosen by a panel of judges following an international nomination process. Georgia Power received the award during EEI’s Winter Board and Chief Executives Meeting.
 
“It is an honor to once again receive EEI's Emergency Recovery Award recognizing Georgia Power's dedication to serving our customers following natural disasters like last year’s tornado outbreak,” said Paul Bowers, chairman, president and CEO of Georgia Power. “This award recognizes that when storms strike, the men and women from Georgia Power and assisting utilities will work tirelessly to restore power as safely and quickly as possible.”
 
Georgia Power estimates that damage from the March tornado outbreak included:

Approximately 100 broken or damaged power poles

More than 16 miles of downed wire

Approximately 19,000 sustained outages at response peak
 
The EF4 tornado that struck Georgia’s Muscogee, Talbot and Harris counties devastated communities and caused significant damage to Georgia Power’s system. More than 600 personnel were mobilized as part of the company’s restoration effort, including support from other Southern Company operating companies. Responding personnel dedicated over 20,000 hours to the restoration, and service was safely restored to nearly all impacted customers three days after the storm.
 
“Georgia Power’s work to restore service safely and quickly to customers, often in dangerous conditions, makes them deserving of this award,” said EEI President Tom Kuhn. “Their efforts exemplify the high standards our industry seeks to uphold, and I applaud their commitment to their customers.”
 
Georgia Power has earned the Emergency Recovery Award eight times including as recently as 2019.