INDIANAPOLIS (November 1, 2012) – Following a telephone call from New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Wednesday, Governor Daniels asked Indiana’s largest utilities to reassess their resources to determine if they could send additional help to East Coast areas impacted by Hurricane Sandy.
 
Even before the hurricane struck the East Coast, Indiana utility companies had begun to send staff and contractors to states that would need the most help. They have continued to redeploy workers, primarily line repair and tree trimming staff, while maintaining adequate resources in Indiana to provide service to customers here.
 
“As in past disasters, no state I know of has hurried to a neighbor’s side more actively than ours has. Chris Christie is a tough and resourceful leader, and if he says he needs more help then you know he’s got a genuine crisis on his hands,” said Daniels. “Thanks to the good people of IPL, Duke, Vectren, NIPSCO and I&M for their extraordinary commitment.”
 
As of Wednesday, here is a summary of manpower deployed from Indiana:
·         Vectren – Nearly 75 contractors and staff in line repair, tree trimming and safety.
·         Duke Energy – 2,700 employees and contractors from six states, including 331 Duke Energy employees and Indiana contractors from Indiana, to assist with power restoration.
·         NIPSCO – About 130 contractors and staff to assist with restoration efforts
·         Indianapolis Power & Light Company – 37 employees and contractors are working in West Virginia and another 22 in Pennsylvania to help with line clearance and restoration
·         Indiana Michigan Power – Nearly 300 staff and contractors are assisting restoration efforts in West Virginia, New York and New Jersey, including line repair, restoration efforts and underground network systems.
 
In addition, more than 200 Hoosier first-responders were among the first to deploy to impacted areas of New Jersey, New York and Maryland. This included ambulance crews in New Jersey for support and relief, three incident management teams in Maryland and New York to assist with logistics and planning, and Indiana Task Force 1 in New York. The ambulance teams are returning from New Jersey today.