Media Contact:: Adam Grant, (702) 367-5222

Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific Power line crews are traveling to San Diego to help rebuild electric facilities destroyed by the wildfires in Southern California.  A total of 31 utility employees will be on site for approximately three weeks to help restore electric service to nearly 20,000 San Diego Gas& Electric (SDG&E) customers.

Two, five person line crews, along with three additional support personnel from Nevada Power Company will depart from Las Vegas on Friday morning, arriving in San Diego late that afternoon.  Three, five person line crews from Sierra Pacific Power– one each from Reno, Fallon and Carson City – along with three other crew members are expected to arrive in San Diego on Friday to begin assisting SDG&E.  Crews will travel in company trucks carrying equipment and tools necessary to help repair damaged electric lines, transformers and other facilities.

"This type of work requires specialized training and our crews are certainly well equipped to assist in this emergency,” said Michael Yackira, president and chief executive officer of Sierra Pacific Resources, parent company of Sierra Pacific Power and Nevada Power. Ã¢â‚¬Å“We are in a position to lend a hand to our neighbors in California and are proud of how our employees and community continue to respond in these situations."

Yackira added that Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific Power are able to provide support through a mutual assistance agreement that enables utilities to help one another during emergencies.

Both Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific Power assessed needs for personnel in their own service areas in order to determine how many crews could be spared from regular duties.