WMGLD Recognized For Help During Hurricane Ian Response

WAKEFIELD, MA — The Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department was honored late last month for its help earlier this year in the response to Hurricane Ian in Florida.

Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light lineworkers Paul Redmond, Ralph Brown, and Nick DiPietro were part of a group of 50 workers in the northeast who headed south to Florida before Ian came ashore.

Organized by stakeholders including the American Public Power Association and the Northeast Public Power Association, the trip aimed to provide mutual aid for local power crews during expected large scale power outages.

Ian, indeed, made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast in late September, devastating parts of the state and plunging thousands into the dark across multiple counties.

Initially stationed in Jacksonville, Fla., Wakefield personnel soon transitioned to the city of Bartow, where they spent time removing debris from energy infrastructure and repairing infrastructure itself, according to social media posts at the time.

The American Public Power Association maintains a broad mutual aid network aimed at coordinating utility resources to respond to widespread power outages. It issued a national commendation to Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light on Oct. 27, thanking the department for its contributions.

“Mutual aid is the heart of what public power does, and the public power community thanks the WMLD and its lineworkers for stepping up to help a neighbor in need — whether they are next door or thousands of miles away,” Public Power Association President and CEO Joy Ditto said in a statement late last month.

Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light General Manager Peter Dion thanked Ditto in his own comments, further celebrating Redmond, Brown and DiPietro for their work.