We invest millions each year on advanced technology to bring you reliable electric service. The result? You receive 99.98% service reliability and fewer outages or "flickers." Outages are most often caused by animals and trees coming into contact with electrical equipment. When this happens, you can get status and restoration updates from our online Outage Map that's updated every 5 minutes.

There's plenty more. Read on:

Improving Reliability

Since 1899, we've provided safe and reliable electricity to our community. While we maintain 99.98% service reliability, we're not stopping there.

Ready for storms? We are.

Our long term Storm Protection Plan, or SPP, will strengthen our system to better withstand extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and tropical storms. As part of the SPP, we have a goal of moving 75-100 miles per year of overhead lines to underground, trimming trees more frequently, making our distribution system more resilient, upgrading transmission poles to concrete or steel, modernizing our substations and improving the technology used on our grid. All while our rates remain among the lowest in the state and below the national average.

Technology has come a long way. So has Tampa Electric.

Since 2017 we have been working on installing over 810,000 new digital smart meters at customer homes and locations. Smart meters are an innovation in technology that modernizes our grid. Smart meters make things easier for customers, and they also help us to improve reliability by automatically alerting us when there is an outage, so we can fix it faster.

We’re also installing technology that enables self-healing. This technology will automatically isolate outages and routes power around the problem, without sending a worker into the field. This dramatically reduces the number of customers affected by the outage – and speeds restoration. Where this technology has been installed, customers have seen a 63 percent reduction in outages and momentary flickers so far in 2022.

Lighting the Way

Our community is growing, and, to keep ensuring reliable service, we must grow with it. By the end of 2026, we’ll have more than 1,600 MW of solar power – enough to power nearly 260,000 homes, and the highest percentage of solar power of any electric company in the state.

Count on us to maintain the lines.

Our crews maintain nearly 6,300 miles of overhead distribution and 1,300 miles of overhead transmission lines over Hillsborough, Polk, Pasco and Pinellas counties.

Count on us to upgrade the system.

We are investing more than $3 million this year to continue installing "recloser" devices on power poles across our service area that are designed to stop power interruptions before they travel "downstream" to more customers.

Generating clean and reliable energy

Our Big Bend Modernization project is complete, eliminating the use of coal that once fueled Unit 1. This project supports Tampa Electric’s ongoing efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions with a vision for net zero by 2050. The Big Bend Modernization project will save customers more than $700 million over its life while improving the land, water and air emissions at Big Bend.

We protect our furry and feathered friends.

Animals cause 17% of power outages and we work hard to protect our system and the animals that may come in contact with our equipment. We install squirrel guards and bird cones. We relocate birds' nests and build special platforms to encourage birds to build their homes away from our power lines.

Staying Informed

We track outages and you can, too, with Tampa Electric's online Outage Map that updates every five minutes. You can learn the cause and restoration status in addition to the number of customers affected and the estimated restoration time.

We keep an eye on things.

Each year, we conduct inspections of our power lines and equipment. We even use helicopters and infrared technology to get a good look at our circuits. These inspections help us keep transmission-equipment-related outages to a minimum.

Streetlight out? Let us know.

We maintain more than 230,000 lights across four counties in support of the communities we serve. You can help us by letting us know when you see one out so that we can restore the service quickly. We're also upgrading all lights with energy-efficiency light-emitting diode (LED) technology. Visit our lighting section for more information.