EEI announces Mississippi Power as Emergency Response Award Recipient

Gulfport, Miss. – Mississippi Power today was announced as an Edison Electric Institute Emergency Response Award recipient for the company’s response to seven consecutive days of severe weather across its service territory culminating with a devastating EF-2 tornado in downtown Moss Point last June.

Roughly 50,000 customers were impacted at some point during the week due to straight line winds, tornados and lightning. In Moss Point alone, 75 poles, 50 transformers and more than eight miles of power lines were replaced following the tornado.

Restoration efforts in Moss Point included a storm team of 500 Mississippi Power employees and additional resources working around the clock to restore service to customers. Less than 36 hours after the tornado, all 8,000 impacted customers that could receive power had their service restored.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by EEI for our storm team’s tremendous efforts last summer,” said Mississippi Power Storm Director Melvin Roland. “A week’s worth of severe weather was tough on our customers, but our storm team did what they are trained to do. They got the lights back on safely and returned a small sense of normalcy to the Moss Point community. I could not be prouder of their teamwork and dedication to our customers.”

Presented to EEI member companies twice a year, the Emergency Response Awards recognize recovery and assistance efforts of electric companies following service disruptions caused by extreme weather or other natural events. Mississippi Power’s storm response was chosen by a panel of judges following an international nomination process, and the awards were presented during EEI’s winter Board of Directors and CEO meeting.

“America’s electric companies are committed to serving their communities and to restoring power safely and as quickly as possible following severe storms and other extreme weather events,” said EEI President and CEO Dan Brouillette. “I applaud Mississippi Power’s commitment to restoring service under challenging conditions following the severe weather across their service territory and the tornado in Moss Point. I am honored to present Mississippi Power and its storm response team with this well-earned recovery award.”