SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has increased the support it is providing to Florida Power & Light (FPL) as the Florida energy company works to restore service in the wake of Hurricane Irma.

About 30 PG&E customer service representatives are now answering customer service calls for FPL in order to help the company effectively manage extraordinarily high call volumes. PG&E representatives in the Sacramento Call Center are answering emergency and outage calls that come into FPL’s customer service lines.

On Sept. 8, PG&E sent about 125 employees, including IBEW Local 1245 line workers, equipment operators, supervisors and support personnel, to Florida ahead of the hurricane to help restore power.

“Providing support to other energy companies and their customers when natural disasters strike remains a hallmark of our industry. Our electric line workers have helped restore power to tens of thousands of FPL customers so far, and now our call-center representatives will be able to help as well,” said Deborah Affonsa, PG&E’s vice president of customer service.

“It’s great to have partners that pitch in when you need help,” said Marlene Santos, FPL’s vice president of customer service. “As an industry, during a crisis, we work together as one to the benefit of our customers.”

“Technology is making it possible for our members, working in their own center, to provide direct support to FPL as they work tirelessly to restore power to millions of customers. Service is their profession, and we are proud to answer the call of duty,” said IBEW Local 1245 Business Manager Tom Dalzell.

PG&E representatives began answering calls this past weekend. Starting today (Sept. 18), they will answer calls daily from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. PG&E employees will help bring some relief to FPL agents who are staffing its call center 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is the first time PG&E has partnered with another energy company to provide call center support during a natural disaster.

PG&E does not anticipate that this effort to support a hurricane-stricken area will result in longer wait times for our customers in Northern and Central California.

About PG&E

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric energy companies in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation’s cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/ and pge.com/news.

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Source: Pacific Gas and Electric Company