JUNO BEACH, Fla., July 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) today announced that it has been recognized by the Southeastern Electric Exchange (SEE) with its Chairman's Award for the company's response to numerous environmental challenges encountered during an important transmission line project. The recognition marks the second time FPL has received this honor.
"Our commitment to environmental stewardship is second to none," said Eric Silagy, president and CEO for FPL. "While this project presented unusual and complicated hurdles, the FPL team rose to the occasion and demonstrated once again its commitment to always doing the right thing, and in this particular instance, protecting wildlife and the environment. On behalf of the entire FPL family, I am extremely proud to accept this award."
During the award-winning transmission line project to improve service reliability in the Sanford area, FPL avoided disturbing two bald eagle's nests, gopher tortoises, Native American artifacts and reduced impact on wetlands – all while finishing ahead of schedule and under budget. The company received SEE Industry Excellence awards in both the Environmental, and Customer Service and Billing categories, as well. This is the seventh year since 2005 that FPL has earned an SEE Industry Excellence Award and the second time the company has won the Chairman's Award.
Each year, SEE member utility companies submit their best projects to compete with other member utilities in hopes of winning one of the prestigious SEE Industry Excellence Awards.
Projects are judged based on achievements, innovation, improvements, requirements met and technical complexity.
The Chairman's Award is a special award designated by the conference chairman, which honors one project that is deemed most outstanding of all category winners – the "Best of the Best."
"This award is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team to provide reliable energy to our customers while being respectful of Florida's distinctive environmental habitats," said Manny Miranda, FPL senior vice president of power delivery. "We appreciate SEE's particular recognition for this project, which highlights FPL's ongoing commitment to protecting our environment and servicing our customers' needs."
Florida Power & Light Company
Florida Power & Light Company is the third-largest electric utility in the United States, serving approximately 4.9 million customer accounts or an estimated 10 million people across nearly half of the state of Florida. FPL's typical 1,000-kWh residential customer bill is approximately 25 percent lower than the latest national average and, in 2016, was the lowest in Florida among reporting utilities for the seventh year in a row. FPL's service reliability is better than 99.98 percent, and its highly fuel-efficient power plant fleet is one of the cleanest among all utilities nationwide. The company received the top ranking in the southern U.S. among large electric providers, according to the J.D. Power 2016 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction StudySM, and was recognized in 2017 as one of the most trusted U.S. electric utilities by Market Strategies International. A leading Florida employer with approximately 8,900 employees, FPL is a subsidiary of Juno Beach, Florida-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE), a clean energy company widely recognized for its efforts in sustainability, ethics and diversity, and has been ranked No. 1 in the electric and gas utilities industry in Fortune's 2017 list of "World's Most Admired Companies." NextEra Energy is also the parent company of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, which, together with its affiliated entities, is the world's largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun. For more information about NextEra Energy companies, visit these websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com, www.FPL.com, www.NextEraEnergyResources.com.
SOURCE Florida Power & Light Company
