Issue link: http://alabamapower.uberflip.com/i/1447266
COVID CONT. EMPLOYEES EXCELLED IN SECOND YEAR OF PANDEMIC YEAR IN REVIEW As the world entered another year of the pandemic, Alabama Power and its employees continued keeping the power on for their 1.5 million customers. Lineworkers, customer service representatives and many other employees worked face to socially-distanced face with customers, wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Retirees joined employees, their spouses and children in receiving one of three federally approved vaccines that became available early in the year. In the midst of the worst health crisis in a century, Alabama Power workers forged ahead to continue safely providing – and after storms, restoring – electric service statewide. The company and its employees continued setting industry standards, receiving local, state and national accolades for their around-the-clock efforts. Here are some of the highlights from 2021: JANUARY Established in 1982, Project SHARE (Service to Help Alabamians with Relief on Energy) provides assistance to low-income elderly and disabled people needing help with their heating and cooling bills. Administered by the Salvation Army of Greater Birmingham, Project SHARE is a partnership involving Alabama Power and electric cooperatives across the state. Since its inception, the program has provided nearly $40 million in assistance to more than 385,000 families. In 2021, more than 1,700 families received assistance from Project SHARE. It was no surprise that the Energizers continued to help people in need, despite social-distancing restrictions and springtime shelter-in-place rules due to the pandemic. Energizers is a companywide service organization of Alabama Power and Southern Company retirees and spouses, which has 11 chapters in Alabama. The Southern Division chapter gave $12,000 to four nonprofit organizations to help support them. Checks were delivered to Adullam House, Project Lifesaver- Montgomery County Sheriff's Department, Montgomery Area Food Bank and Alabama Sheriff's Department Youth Ranches. The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) presented Alabama Power with an Emergency Assistance Award and an Emergency Recovery Award for outstanding power restoration efforts after Hurricane Laura in August 2020 and Hurricane Sally in September 2020. More than 350 Alabama Power team members restored power in Texas and Louisiana after Laura, working for two weeks through extreme heat and humidity to rebuild infrastructure in affected communities. Sally was the first hurricane to make landfall on the Alabama coast in two decades and caused more than 680,000 outages. Employees performed a multiday restoration, replacing damaged infrastructure that included more than 400 poles, 500 transformers and 1,500 spans of power lines. FEBRUARY Alabama Power deployed 80 artificial fish-attracting devices (FADs) on Logan Martin Lake to give fish better places to feed and grow. Employees and volunteers have deployed more than 60,000 fish habitats in Alabama's lakes and rivers since 1993, with a majority being natural habitats consisting of recycled Christmas trees, stumps and logs. High school anglers, coaches and parents from the Gardendale Rockets Bass Fishing Club and Hukone Bass Club joined volunteers from Alabama Power, B.A.S.S. and Alabama B.A.S.S. Nation High School to assemble the FADs. The work was done in an open field, allowing participants to follow COVID-19 safety protocols. Alabama Power joined forces with Baron Critical Weather Institute (BCWI) to expand the collection and analysis of real-time weather data in Alabama in an effort to improve weather-related decisions by citizens, first responders and government agencies. A BCWI weather sensor and webcam was installed at Alabama Power's facility on Fourth Street near downtown Tuscaloosa as part of a pilot project. BCWI founder and CEO Bob Baron said weather data and video from the equipment will be sent continuously to BCWI for integration into its mesonet, a high-density weather network to improve public safety through advanced data analysis. The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) announced plans to expand electric vehicle (EV) fast-charging infrastructure along portions of Interstate Highways 20 and 459. As part of the initiative, ADECA issued a request for proposals to build direct-current fast charger (DCFC) stations along specific highway corridors. ADECA will provide up to 80% of the cost. To further promote the growth of EVs, Alabama Power will support ADECA by matching up to 20% of the cost to install DCFCs. This advanced technology can charge many EV batteries in 20-30 minutes. Alabama Power will work with the companies on the installation, providing guidance on construction, charging-station hardware and software. MARCH Alabama Power won the Community Impact Award presented by the SouthWest Mobile County Chamber of Commerce (SWMCC). The company received a proclamation from Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth for its investment in the community, sponsorships and support of the SWMCC through the Alabama Power Service Organization (APSO) and the Alabama Power Foundation. For SWMCC Kid's Day, parents were able to drive through while volunteers handed out backpacks for children. The annual First Responders Breakfast was replaced with a drive-thru boxed lunch event. In St. Clair County, biologists from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, the Geological Survey of Alabama, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and Alabama Power searched small creeks for evidence of the trispot darter. The multicolored fish had not been seen for more than 50 years in Alabama – until scientists pinpointed a small population in St. Clair County in 2008. In 2019, federal officials listed the trispot darter as a threatened species. Alabama Power biologists also 1 continued