The energy industry is grounded in its ability to provide reliable, continuous power to billions of people worldwide. However, when natural disasters strike, widespread power outages can occur across the entire grid.
When this happens, energy companies must respond swiftly yet safely to ensure that service is quickly restored. However, reestablishing power on the heels of a major weather event is no small task. To that end, the power industry often depends on the “mutual assistance network,” a voluntary partnership of electric companies from across the country in which resources are pooled to help accelerate restoration efforts.
In addition to Exelon’s mutual assistance efforts to restore power in affected areas when Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria pummeled through the southeast in 2017, Exelon was able to utilize Constellation Field to provide shelter and disaster relief assistance in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
Following Hurricane Harvey, Constellation Field in Sugarland, Texas — home to the Sugarland Skeeters, an independent league baseball team — was temporarily opened as a shelter for those who were forced to leave their homes due to flooding. And, in the months following the hurricane, over 200 Constellation volunteers devoted more than 1,700 hours toward Houston recovery and rebuild efforts after the storm.
In addition to volunteering, through the Constellation #HoustonStrong registry, which was initiated by Houston employee resource groups, Constellation and Exelon employees throughout the country purchased replacement items and grocery gift cards totaling over $1,200 to support the most severely impacted employees. The Exelon Foundation also established a grant application process in partnership with United Way of Chicago to provide grant awards totaling $148,310 to employees affected by Hurricane Harvey.
In total, Constellation, the Exelon family of companies, and our employees committed a total of $710,000 to the American Red Cross in the wake of Harvey, Irma, and Maria, plus an additional $110,000 to additional recovery and rebuild charities.
Recovery efforts did not stop there. Exelon and Constellation employees continued to do their part in 2018 by partnering with the
Student Conservation Association in January to help plant 200 trees throughout the Houston area.
This serves as just another example of Exelon’s work to power a cleaner and brighter future for our customers and communities. To learn more about Exelon’s other initiatives within the com-munity, visit
http://www.exeloncorp.com/community/volunteerism.
