At Tampa Electric, safety comes first – for you and for our team members who work to keep the power flowing to your community. With our comprehensive plans to restore power, our year-round commitment to hardening our system and the way we recognize the priority of your neighborhood's needs during and after severe weather, our focus is on our customers.
If your electric service system is damaged due to severe weather, it is Tampa Electric's responsibility to handle actual repairs to service and the responsibility of individual customers to repair other components.
Download our new hurricane brochure and be prepared.
Want even more hurricane preparedness tips? Tampa Electric is a proud partner of the American Red Cross. Learn more ways to keep your home and family safe during a hurricane. Visit the United States government website for additional resources.
Be prepared
To help you and your family prepare for hurricane season, download and print these preparedness tips. Take time to share the information with members of your family so you will know what to do when our area experiences stormy weather. The better you plan, the better off you and your family will be when a storm hits.
Additional safety guidance
As we make safety our top priority, we ask that you do the same. Please follow these critical electrical safety guidelines:
- Always assume that downed power lines are energized, and maintain a safe distance away.
- Stay out of floodwaters. Floodwaters can hide energized power lines or other hazards, or put you at risk of drowning.
- Caution: Use portable generators safely. DO NOT connect a portable generator to home circuits. Plug appliances directly to the generator. Connecting a generator to home circuits may cause power to flow to outside lines, posing life-threatening danger to restoration crews. Also, portable generators must NOT be taken into a residence or any enclosed space where deadly carbon monoxide gases could build up. (Note: this should not be done in a closed garage.)
Our storm plan
To prepare for severe weather in general and, in particular, for hurricane season – which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30 – we follow a 10-point storm hardening project developed by Florida's investor-owned electric utilities in conjunction with the Florida Public Service Commission. This comprehensive, year-round plan includes companywide response drills, enhancements to customer service, upgrades to our equipment and tree trimming in accordance with National Arbor Day standards to protect the health of trees growing near power infrastructure.
Our power restoration work in the community begins when it's safe for our crews to be outside (typically when winds are less than 40 mph) and focuses first on facilities critical to public health and safety. We then work to get the power back on for the most customers in the least amount of time. If a widespread outage requires additional help, Tampa Electric's membership in the Southeastern Electric Exchange provides support from other utilities. In turn, we will send crews to help restore power for other communities in need.
We're ready to roll
A critical part of our restoration plan is our 35-foot mobile command center for Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas. It's ready to roll in any type of emergency, whether right here in Florida due to a hurricane or elsewhere as part of our participation in the Southeastern Electric Exchange's mutual assistance pact among utilities. Watch the video below to get a close-up look at what it brings to the community.
All communities we serve are equal to us. During a widespread power outage, our goal is to restore power to the largest number of customers in the shortest possible time. Visit our Storm Restoration tab and learn how our crews work until power is restored to all customers.
Call Before You Dig
Every digging project, no matter how large or small, requires a call to 811. View the color code for marking underground utility lines.
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