SMA Extends Helping Hand to Customers in Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew

In the wake of Hurricane Matthew, one of the most destructive hurricanes in recent history, SMA America has reached out to utility customers in the affected areas to offer support and provide free inspections of SMA Sunny Central utility family inverters.

In October, Hurricane Matthew wreaked havoc across the Southeastern U.S. and the Caribbean with flooding, record-breaking wind speeds and torrential rain. It severely damaged homes, businesses and utilities, resulting in widespread power outages.

Some of those affected by the hurricane are SMA customers in the region who rely on solar as a source of power, and many experienced severe damage to their inverters.

“Our thoughts are with the families, businesses and communities that suffered from this hurricane, and we want to make every effort to support our customers who have seen resulting damage to their utility class inverters,” said Chuck Smith, executive vice president of SMA’s Service Business Unit. “We hope that this support aids in some way during what we know will be a difficult recovery process.”

SMA strongly urges customers with damaged equipment to take caution in the hazardous post-hurricane conditions. The company warns against reactivation of electrical equipment that may have been damaged, even if it appears to be fine.

“We are committed to helping our customers through this recovery effort, and our priority is to safely get their equipment back up and running,” said Smith. “We strongly urge everyone to be careful, and to reach out to us so we can inspect their warrantied SMA Sunny Central inverters free of charge. Please, let us lend a hand during this difficult time.”

To request an inspection of warrantied SMA Sunny Central utility class inverter with a direct connection to the medium-voltage grid, report losses or for additional information, customers can reach out to the SMA service team by calling 1-877-697-6283 or e-mailing US-ServiceCentral@SMA-America.com.

About SMA
The SMA Group with sales of €1 billion in 2015 is the global market leader for solar inverters, a key component of all PV plants, and offers innovative key technologies for future power supply structures. It is headquartered in Niestetal, near Kassel, Germany, and is represented in 20 countries. The Group employs more than 3,000 people worldwide. SMA has an extensive range of products, which offers the right inverters for all module types and plant sizes; for small residential systems as well as large-scale plants, grid-connected photovoltaic systems as well as off-grid and hybrid systems. Moreover, SMA offers system technology for various battery technologies and system sizes and collaborates with renowned battery manufacturers and companies from the automotive industry. The SMA technology is protected by about 700 patents and utility models worldwide. The range of services is supplemented by comprehensive services and operational management of large-scale PV power plants. Since 2008, the Group’s parent company, SMA Solar Technology AG, has been listed on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (S92) and is currently the only company in the solar industry that is listed in the TecDAX index. www.SMA-America.com