Pineville, La. – Cleco is preparing to send a 42-member storm team to assist Georgia Power and has released 63 contractors to assist utilities in Florida in advance of Hurricane Irma.

Hurricane Irma is currently a Category 4 storm. Mandatory evacuations have been issued in Florida, and along the Georgia coast.   

“Forecasts predict Hurricane Irma will impact the southeast, but details remain uncertain,” said Andy Guillory, mutual assistance coordinator and manager of distribution reliability and maintenance.  “Cleco has been working closely with utilities like Duke Energy Florida, Florida Public Utilities and Georgia Power whose customers and systems could be impacted by the hurricane, and we are ready to assist.”

Cleco crews from Bunkie, Covington, Eunice, Franklin, New Iberia, Opelousas, Pineville, Mandeville, Mansfield, Many and Slidell will meet at Cleco’s St. Tammany Service Center in Mandeville on Monday, Sept. 11, at 9:30 a.m. with an estimated departure of 10 a.m.  The plan is to stay overnight in Alabama before arriving in Macon, Ga., the final destination, on Tuesday afternoon.

“We understand the challenges utilities face following severe weather,” said Guillory.  “Utilities come together and assist one another when weather events create large power outages and damage to electrical systems.  We have received help, and we willingly support others.”

Cleco is a member of the Southeastern Electric Exchange mutual assistance program where member utilities offer restoration assistance after major outage events.

Georgia Power is a subsidiary of Southern Company and serves 2.5 million customers in Georgia.