Greenville Utilities Commission (GUC) has received national commendations from the American Public Power Association (APPA) for its support in restoring power in two neighboring communities in 2018. The commendations are for:
- On June 21st, GUC sent eleven crew members to Edenton to help replace nine power poles which had been snapped during a severe storm the night before.
- In September, Hurricane Florence wreaked havoc across southeastern North Carolina. New Bern had roughly 20,000 outages, and GUC sent 13 crew members to assist with restoration.
“Part of the value of public power is that we are here for each other,” said Tony Cannon, GUC’s General Manager / CEO. “There have been times when we have needed help and other public power agencies have come here to help us. Whenever others need our help and we can go, we go. It’s who we are and what we do.”
Greenville Utilities has participated in similar mutual aid events over the years, from Florida to New England, helping restore power from hurricanes and winter storms. GUC is part of the APPA’s Mutual Aid Network, which coordinates with utilities and authorities during widespread power outages.
GUC also provided water and wastewater mutual aid to Onslow County in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, the first time such aid had been organized by a state-wide water utilities-focused organization.