Hurricane season starts June 1, and Tampa Electric is prepared for whatever Mother Nature has in store. The company’s year-round preparations enable Tampa Electric to handle the potential impacts of hurricanes and widespread power outages.
Hurricane season runs through Nov. 30, and experts are anticipating an unusually active season this year. Severe storms can damage Tampa Electric’s equipment, and power outages may occur. Tampa Electric continues to invest in strategic projects to help reduce the impact of power outages – and to reduce restoration time. Since 2018, those investments have reduced the number of power outages by more than 30 percent – and shortened their duration by 40 percent.
The National Weather Service (NWS) recognized Tampa Electric as a Storm Ready Community in December, making TECO the first Florida electric utility to receive this prestigious national designation. The assessment reviewed Tampa Electric’s year-round training, written plans, weather monitoring, facilities and communication.
Tampa Electric invested hundreds of millions of dollars last year to strengthen the system against severe weather, which includes infrastructure replacement, tree trimming and pole inspections. Tampa Electric’s Storm Protection Program (SPP) will help strengthen the system to better withstand extreme weather events, such as hurricanes. This program will mean fewer outages for customers, and shorter outages after extreme weather events. Of Tampa Electric’s 12,000 miles of power lines, about half are underground. The SPP program has converted 240 miles to underground since 2021. In 2023, Tampa Electric:
- Inspected nearly 36,000 wooden power poles, or 14 percent.
- Strengthened or replaced nearly 1,600 distribution power poles, or 4 percent of those inspected.
- Strengthened more than 700 transmission structures.
- Trimmed tree limbs and branches from about 2,500 miles of overhead power lines, or 33 percent.
The company continues to install technology that enables self-healing. This technology automatically isolates outages and routes power around the problem, without sending a worker into the field. This minimizes the number of customers affected by an outage – and shortens restoration. Where this technology has been installed, customers have seen a reduction in outages and momentary flickers of more than 50 percent.
Our strategic investments are bringing value to customers. During Hurricane Ian, none of the company’s storm-strengthened assets experienced any issues. Outside of Hurricane Ian, Tampa Electric customers saw fewer repeat power outages in 2023 – and they were shorter than the previous year.
Tampa Electric wants customers to be prepared
Tampa Electric encourages all customers to have a personal storm plan in place for their home or business. Visit TampaElectric.com/StormCenter for tips, restoration information and additional guidance. Visit your county’s emergency management website to determine your flood zone, your hurricane evacuation zone, get flood depth data, flood insurance information, or help with property flood protection for residents.
Consumers can purchase qualifying disaster preparedness supplies exempt from tax during the 2024 Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday. This year there are two opportunities: June 1 to 14 and Aug. 24 to Sept. 6.
Assistance is available to those with special needs during storm-related emergencies. Register for special needs disaster assistance. If you or someone in your home has special needs and may require help locating a shelter and transportation, now is the time to contact your county’s emergency management agency to arrange for assistance.
Tampa Electric offers customers several ways to report and monitor power outages:
- Log into your online account at TecoAccount.com to report the outage with one click.
- Visit TampaElectric.com/Outage and report your outage.
- Text OUT to 27079. Text UPDATE or STATUS for updates on your reported outage.
- Call 1-877-588-1010, Tampa Electric’s dedicated toll-free automated power outage phone system.
- Go to TecoAccount.com/notifications and sign up for free outage notifications by text, email or phone calls.
- Visit our outage map at TampaElectric.com/OutageMap to report and track outages. You can also get restoration status.
Tampa Electric also will use social media channels, such as Facebook facebook.com/TampaElectric, X (formerly Twitter) @tampaelectric and the Nextdoor app, to keep customers informed about outage restoration.
Electrical safety guidelines
As with all its activities, safety is always Tampa Electric’s No. 1 priority after a storm. Following a storm, Tampa Electric teams patrol the electric system to locate problems. Customers can enhance their safety and Tampa Electric’s restoration efforts by observing the following guidelines:
- Stay away from any downed power lines. Downed lines do not have to pop and snap to be energized. Assume all downed power lines are energized. Everyone should avoid contact with a downed line or any object – such as a tree branch, fence, vehicle or even water – that has come in contact with a downed power line.
- Use portable generators safely. Do not connect a portable generator directly to a home circuit. Plug appliances directly into the generator. Connecting a generator to home circuits may cause power to flow to outside lines, called backfeed, which can pose life-threatening danger to restoration crews.
- Also, portable generators must be in a dry, well-ventilated space. Do not use during a storm. Do not use a generator inside a residence or any enclosed space, such as a garage or lanai, where deadly carbon monoxide could accumulate. Only use portable generators outdoors, more than 20 feet away from your home.
- In the event of an outage, prepare the home for power restoration. Customers should make sure their homes are ready to safely receive electricity once power has been restored. Make sure there are no flammable items on the stove, no irons left on or other potentially dangerous situations. Turn off as many appliances as possible that require electricity and turn them on individually after power is restored. This causes less stress to the power system and ensures that all customers get restored without unnecessary delays. When leaving the home for an extended period, customers should switch off their power at the main breaker.
Tampa Electric, one of Florida’s largest investor-owned electric utilities, serves about 840,000 customers in West Central Florida. Tampa Electric is a subsidiary of Emera Inc., a geographically diverse energy and services company headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
