Thanks Them for Their Effort to Restore Service to Millions That Have Lost Power
Late this afternoon, the President participated
in a call in the White House Situation Room with Energy Secretary Stephen Chu,
FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate and utility executives to underscore that
restoring power to the millions of Americans who lost electricity during Sandy
is a top priority and explore areas where FEMA and federal partners can provide
additional assistance as companies and states work towards this goal.
President Obama thanked the executives for the
efforts their companies made to preposition assets in advance of the storm and
for the important work that has already begun to restore power, including the
ongoing effort to move existing private sector assets from as far away as the
West Coast.
The President also commended the dangerous and
exhausting work being undertaken by the lineman and utility workers on the
front lines in the field, repairing downed power lines and conducting other
important tasks.
On the call the President made clear his
existing directive to agencies to eliminate any bureaucratic roadblocks the
companies and their crews could encounter that delay the power restoration
effort, and identified steps the companies and the Administration could take
now to help speed this critical effort – including the deployment of an
industry liaison to FEMA’s National Response Coordination Center beginning
tomorrow.
President Obama instructed his team to keep him
updated on the progress made by the utilities to restore power.
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