During the busy hurricane season, Progress Energy and its employees have contributed thousands of dollars to hurricane relief and logged nearly as many hours restoring power to hurricane victims.

"It's heartwarming to see how generous our employees are with their financial contributions and their time. Unfortunately, in Florida, we know hurricanes and the damage they can do all too well. Our neighbors have always been there for us in the past, and we're pleased to take this opportunity to help our friends on the Gulf Coast," said Bill Habermeyer, president and CEO of Progress Energy Florida.

The company and its employees recently contributed $472,000 to the American Red Cross National Disaster Relief Fund, which assists victims of all hurricanes. Progress Energy pledged $100,000 and matched $186,000 of employee contributions collected to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.

More than 1530 Progress Energy employees and contractors went the extra mile and traveled to the Gulf Coast to help restore electric service for residents. Of the Progress Energy personnel assisting with restoration, more than 650 were Progress Energy Florida employees and contractors. Most of them worked an average of two weeks in the affected areas. Hundreds more are currently assisting in power restoration efforts in Florida following Hurricane Wilma.

Progress Energy, headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, is a Fortune 250 diversified energy company with more than 24,000 MW of generation capacity and $9 billion in annual revenues.