Hurricane season starts on June 1. Don’t delay. Prepare today!
With hurricane season just around the corner, we want to share a few tips, resources and valuable information to help you prepare for the season ahead.
"Forecasters predict ‘extremely active’ hurricane season.”
– Tampa Bay Times
What can you do now to prepare for storm season?
- Register for an online account so you can manage your account from anywhere. Store your account number in a safe place.
- Bookmark our outage map so you can easily report and check the status of power outages. You can also sign up to receive outage notifications via text, email or phone.
- Enroll in paperless billing, Auto Pay, payment reminders and other helpful electronic notifications to manage your account seamlessly from wherever you are, offering peace of mind during unpredictable weather situations.
- Visit Preparing for Hurricane Season for the latest emergency preparation information.
- Sign up for our Medical Watch program and the Florida Special Needs Registry to get assistance if you or your loved ones depend on in-home electric-powered medical equipment.
Participation in the Medical Watch program does not provide priority restoration. The program does not automatically extend service payment options, nor does it guarantee uninterrupted electric service.
“Very active 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season, 20-25 Named Storms.”
– AccuWeather
How does Tampa Electric prepare?
To ensure we restore your service as quickly as possible, we prepare year-round with mock storm drills, continuous training, emergency response plans and investments like our Storm Protection Plan. Our proactive approach, detailed below, is designed with our customers in mind and aims to minimize storm damage, shorten power outage durations and reduce the restoration costs that our customers would otherwise incur.
- Storm Protection Plan
We invest millions of dollars each year in our Storm Protection Plan (SPP) to enhance our resiliency and ensure customers receive the reliable power they deserve. Our plan includes undergrounding vulnerable overhead power lines, trimming trees that can cause outages, replacing wood poles with steel or concrete and modernizing our equipment and substations to enhance our reliability in blue skies and gray. Thanks to our SPP, customers have experienced fewer and shorter outages and a nearly 40 percent reduction in tree-related outages.
- Smart Technology
We’re installing “self-healing” technology that automatically isolates outages and routes power around problems without having to send crews into the field. This reduces outages and momentary flickers by 50 to 60 percent where installed.
- Industry Partnerships and Training
We are not alone! When natural disasters hit and outages are widespread, we get help from our fellow utilities through the Southeastern Electric Exchange Trade Association. We also exchange ideas and apply tested engineering and construction technologies to our systems and processes to restore power more quickly to our community.
Where can you get more information?
- Monitor potential storm activity by watching local news and weather sources.
- Subscribe to our newsletter for storm season updates, as well as energy-savings tips, special offers and more.
- Follow us on social media for the latest information on storms, safety, restoration and other essential topics.
- Download or print our storm brochure for useful preparedness and safety tips.
- Visit our Storm Center for resources and valuable information about storm preparation and restoration.
- Get life-saving tips from our Storm Safety
As we gear up for what experts anticipate being a highly active hurricane season, Tampa Electric is fully committed to ensuring safe, reliable power for our customers. Through our ongoing investments in infrastructure modernization, technology and partnerships, we're prepared to minimize outages and restore service quickly. We urge you to take advantage of our storm preparation resources and tips to keep you and your loved ones informed, prepared and safe.
