The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) announced OG&E as a recipient of the association’s Emergency Response Award following power restoration from the 2020 New Year’s Eve snowstorm in Oklahoma City.

Emergency Response Awards recognize recovery and assistance efforts of electric companies following service disruptions caused by extreme weather or other natural events. OG&E was selected by a panel of judges following an international nomination process, and the awards were presented Tuesday during EEI’s virtual board of directors meeting.

OG&E customers rang in the New Year amid a significant winter storm that brought snow, freezing rain and ice to our service area. The storm was followed by high winds on New Year's Day which caused more outages. In total, more than 25,000 customers were left without power. More than 1,800 personnel worked to restore electricity, replacing 74 poles, 34 crossarms and 19 transformers. Crews restored power to 88% of customers within the first 24 hours and completed restoration for all customers on Jan. 2.

“Even with challenges of continuing strong winds, slick roads and cold temperatures, we were able to restore power in just over 48 hours,” said Andrea Dennis, Vice President Transmission & Distribution Operations. “I applaud our crews and our support personnel for their continued dedication to safely restore power to our customers and communities.”

Today’s awards mark a total of 19 times since 1999 that OG&E has received the highest national distinction for emergency recovery. The company has been recognized 11 times for major storms affecting the OG&E system and eight times for assisting other companies.

About OG&E

Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE: OGE), is Oklahoma’s largest electric utility. For more than a century, we have provided customers in Oklahoma and western Arkansas the safe, reliable electricity needed to power their businesses and homes at rates below the national average. Our employees are committed to generating and delivering electricity, protecting the environment, and providing excellent service to our 871,000 customers. OG&E has 7,120 MW of electric generation capacity fueled by low-sulfur coal, natural gas, wind and solar. OG&E employees live, work and volunteer in the communities we serve. For more information about OG&E, visit our website at http://www.oge.com or follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ogepower and Twitter: @OGandE.

About EEI

EEI is the association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies. Our members provide electricity for more than 220 million Americans and operate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. As a whole, the electric power industry supports more than 7 million jobs in communities across the United States. In addition to our U.S. members, EEI has more than 65 international electric companies, with operations in more than 90 countries, as International Members, and hundreds of industry suppliers and related organizations as Associate Members.