HR1061 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1061 LRB100 21795 MST 39873 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, On September 13, 2017, the National Hurricane Center began tracking a tropical wave that ultimately became Hurricane Maria; and

WHEREAS, Hurricane Maria became the tenth most intense Atlantic hurricane on record and the most intense tropical storm of the 2017 season; and

WHEREAS, On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm with sustained wind speeds of 155 miles per hour; and

WHEREAS, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands just 14 days after Hurricane Irma did; and

WHEREAS, All of the 3.5 million residents of Puerto Rico lost power following Hurricanes Irma and Maria; and

WHEREAS, In the nearly seven months since Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico, more than 40,000 people are still without electricity; and

WHEREAS, Puerto Rico is experiencing the longest blackout in U.S. history and second-longest in world history, measured in customer hours of lost electricity service; and

WHEREAS, 146 ComEd employees went voluntarily to Puerto Rico to assist the local utility in restoring power; and

WHEREAS, The employees who went to Puerto Rico faced unfamiliar and treacherous terrain on the island's mountains and in its rainforests; and

WHEREAS, These employees, along with utility workers from the five other Exelon utilities, installed 376 poles, 267 transformers, and more than 108 miles of cable; and

WHEREAS, Through these employees' hard work over 50 days on the island, more than 11,000 customers in affected areas had their power restored; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize the humanitarian efforts of the men and women of ComEd who volunteered to help restore electricity to the Island of Puerto Rico, known affectionately as La Isla del Encanto; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the ComEd Operations Team leads for their service to the people of Puerto Rico.