TAMPA, September 5, 2017
Tampa Electric is closely monitoring Hurricane Irma and is prepared to respond to severe weather that could affect Florida in coming days.
"Irma is a large and unpredictable storm," said Gordon Gillette, president and chief executive officer of Tampa Electric. "While the path remains uncertain, we encourage our customers to begin making preparations now."
Tampa Electric's comprehensive storm plan is in place and we are ready for whatever Mother Nature brings our way:
This year, Tampa Electric has some new additions to our field fleet: seven Fold-Out Rigid Temporary Shelters (FORTS). They are portable command posts that provide temporary office space in the field, including internet access. In conjunction with our Mobile Command Center, the FORTS allow us to set up full incident bases in multiple locations – this helps get our storm leaders into the hardest-hit areas, which means a more efficient restoration effort.
Tampa Electric offers customers several ways to report power outages:
Customers can monitor and track outages in their neighborhoods through the outage map at tampaelectric.com/outagemap. The map displays the cause, status and estimated restoration time. Tampa Electric also will use Twitter @tampaelectric to keep customers informed about outage restoration.
The company also recommends that customers have a storm plan in place for their homes or businesses. It's important to prepare now for severe weather during a storm:
Tampa Electric would like to remind customers to be safe after a storm:
Tampa Electric invests more than $55 million annually in a 10-point plan to harden the system against severe weather, which includes infrastructure replacement, tree trimming and pole inspections. In 2016, Tampa Electric:
Tampa Electric, one of Florida's largest investor-owned electric utilities, serves about 730,000 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.
For journalist inquiries only:
CHERIE JACOBS Tampa Electric TECO Energy, Inc. 702 N. Franklin Street Tampa, Florida 33602 E-mail: cljacobs@tecoenergy.com
Tampa Electric is an Emera company. Copyright © 2021 Emera Inc. All rights reserved.