Peter Schorsch
Tampa Electric (TECO) closely monitors Tropical Storm Helene and is prepared to respond to severe weather that may affect West Central Florida. The company also encourages customers to plan.
The tropical storm has the potential to become a major hurricane, with life-threatening storm surge, heavy rain, and damaging winds that could affect the entire Tampa Bay area starting Thursday.
TECO says customers should expect and prepare for severe weather, which may result in significant, extended power outages.
Crews are prepared to work around the clock to restore power quickly and safely.
Nearly 3,000 lineworkers and tree trimmers are traveling to Florida to join the 600 workers already there. They will set up in the Orlando area Wednesday until the storm passes, then move to five base camps, which will house and feed the utility crews while they help to restore power.
Customers may experience power outages. Tampa Electric offers customers several ways to report and monitor power outages:
— Log in to your online account at TecoAccount.com to report the outage with one click. Visit TampaElectric.com/Outage to report your outage and get restoration status.
— 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.
Tampa Electric also will use facebook.com/tampaelectric and X (formerly known as Twitter) @tampaelectric to keep customers informed about outage restoration.
Tampa Electric urges customers to complete storm preparations for their homes or businesses.
Visit TampaElectric.com/storm for tips, restoration information and additional guidance.
Customers in low-lying or evacuation zones are especially urged to evacuate if directed by local officials. Visit your county’s emergency management website to determine your flood zone and hurricane evacuation zone, get flood depth data and flood insurance information, or help with property flood protection for residents.
Tampa Electric reminds customers to be safe after a storm:
— Avoid downed power lines and urge others to be extremely cautious.
— Remember to use portable generators safely. Plug your appliances directly into the generator. DO NOT connect your portable generator to your home’s circuits. Connecting your generator to the circuits may cause power to flow to outside lines, posing a life-threatening danger to restoration crews.
— Portable generators must not be taken into homes or any enclosed space (like a garage) where deadly carbon monoxide gases could build up.
— Stay out of floodwaters, as they can hide energized power lines or put you at risk of drowning.
Tampa Electric asks for your patience as crews assess the damage and focus on restoration efforts after this potentially dangerous storm.
One comment
MarvinM
September 24, 2024 at 2:36 pm
Get solar generators! They do have ones now that can run whole houses.
I have only a couple of solar units storing 300 watts each (kinda “Baby’s first solar”) but they’ll be enough to power lights, fans, the medically necessary air mattress and entral feeder and electric bed, TV, keep the iPhones and iPad charged and other sporadic stuff. There are ones not that expensive that can easily keep a fridge running.
Sure, you can spend less money on a gas generator, but you have to store gas (which after season is over you should put into your car and replace), and you have to run it every year whether you had a storm or not, and you have to give it an oil change, and you cannot run run it in the house, so you need to also buy like at least one good 50 maybe 100 foot extension cord.
Plus, the gas generators are so noisy! OMG! And they will only be used when there is a power outage that is expected to last let’s say 12 hours or more. How long many times has that happened to me here in South Florida? I think twice. In 32 years. With a solar generator, it’s right there for those other power outages that may be as short as ten minutes or up to 11.99 hours,
With a solar generator, you can keep “topping it off” for free thanks to the sun, and use it in the home year round, in essentially complete silence, to run whatever you want, off the grid, reducing you electric bill. With just a little planning, you can probably have a really good and efficient solar panel and generator/s that will pay for themselves in electricity savings with three years. And if I’m wrong and it’s 4 or 5 years to recoup the cost, remember – only needed gas generator twice in 32 years in South Florida.
No, I am not associated with any solar company (I’m not associated with any company at all). Just a big solar fan.